Sycamore Row - John Grisham

“He’s out in the rotunda,” Lanier said to a bailiff. “Waiting.”
Jake was shaking his head at Judge Atlee and said, “He can’t testify if he’s not listed
as a witness, Judge.”
“I’m calling him anyway,” Lanier said.
Fritz Pickering entered the courtroom and followed a bailiff to the witness stand.
“I object, Your Honor,” Jake said.
Judge Atlee removed his reading glasses, glared at Wade Lanier, and said, “All right,
let’s take a fifteen-minute recess. I’ll see the lawyers in chambers. Lawyers only. No
paralegals or staff.”
The jury was hurried out of the courtroom as the lawyers followed the judge into the
rear hallway and into his cramped chambers. He did not remove his robe, but sat down
and looked as confused as Jake. “Start talking,” he said to Lanier.
“Your Honor, this witness is not an evidentiary witness; thus he does not have to be
made known to the other side. His purpose is to impeach the credibility of another
witness, not to give evidence. I was not required to put him on the list or in any way
divulge his name because I was never certain he would be called. Now, based on the
testimony of Lettie Lang, and her inability to tell the truth, this witness is suddenly
crucial to our case.”
Judge Atlee exhaled as every lawyer in the room racked his brain for bits and pieces
of the rules of evidence and the rules of civil procedure. At the moment, there was little
doubt Lanier had full command of the rules regarding witness impeachment. This was
his ambush, one he and Lester Chilcott had planned perfectly. Jake wanted to gush forth
in some cogent and sensible argument, but brilliance failed him miserably at the
moment.
“What will the witness say?” Judge Atlee asked.
“Lettie Lang once worked for his mother, Mrs. Irene Pickering. Fritz and his sister
fired Lettie when his sister found a handwritten will leaving fifty thousand in cash to
Lettie. She just told at least three lies. Number one, she said she had worked for only
those people I mentioned, over the past twenty or so years. Mrs. Pickering hired her in
1978, and they fired her in 1980. Number two, she has in fact been fired as a
housekeeper. Number three, she said she has never seen a will. Fritz and his sister
showed her the handwritten will the day they fired her. There may be another one or
two, I can’t think of them all right now.”
Jake’s shoulders fell as his gut clenched, his vision blurred, and the color drained from
his face. It was imperative that he say something intelligent, but everything was blank.
Then lightning struck and he asked, “When did you find Fritz Pickering?”
“I didn’t meet him until today,” Lanier said smugly.
“That’s not what I asked. When did you find out about the Pickerings?”
“During discovery. Again, Jake, it’s another example of us outworking you. We found
more witnesses. We’ve been out there beating the bushes, working our asses off. I don’t
know what you’ve been doing.”
“And the rules require you to submit the names of your witnesses. Two weeks ago you
dumped the names of forty-five new ones on the table. You’re not playing by the rules