Sycamore Row - John Grisham

witness that won’t take long.”
If Jake had an inkling of what was coming, he would have stalled some more with
Ian, burned some clock, and dodged another ambush, at least until the next day. As it
turned out, however, the jury left for the night with an even lower opinion of Seth
Hubbard and his proclivities.
Lanier said, “We call Julina Kidd.”
Jake immediately recognized the name as one of the forty-five Lanier had dumped on
his desk two weeks earlier. Jake had tried twice to phone her, but got nowhere. She was
fetched from a witness room and led to the stand by a bailiff. Per Wade Lanier’s rather
clear and firm instructions, she wore a cheap, blue dress that was similar to what Lettie
had on. Nothing tight, nothing sexy, nothing to show off a figure that usually
commanded a second look. No jewelry, nothing fancy. She tried her best to look plain,
though that would have been impossible.
The message was subtle: if Seth would chase this attractive black woman, then he
would also chase Lettie.
She took the stand and smiled nervously at the jury. Lanier walked her through some
preliminaries, then got right to the point. He handed her some paperwork and asked,
“Can you please identify this?”
She took a quick look and said, “Yes, this is a claim for sexual harassment I filed
against Seth Hubbard about five years ago.”
Jake was on his feet, practically yelling, “Objection, Your Honor. Unless counsel can
explain to us why this is relevant, it should not be admitted.” Lanier was standing too,
ready to rumble. “Oh, it’s very relevant, Your Honor,” he said loudly.
Judge Atlee raised both hands and said, “Silence.” He glanced at his watch, looked at
the jurors, paused for a second, and said, “Let’s keep everyone right here and take a
five-minute break. Counsel, meet me in chambers.” They hurriedly marched back into
his chambers. Jake was bitter enough to throw a punch and Lanier seemed willing to
mix it up. When Lester Chilcott closed the door, Judge Atlee said, “What’s her
testimony?”
Lanier said, “She worked for one of Seth Hubbard’s companies in south Georgia. They
met there, he came on strong, forced her to have sex, then fired her when she decided
she didn’t want any more. They reached an out-of-court settlement on the harassment
suit.”
“And this was five years ago?” Jake asked.
“It was.”
“How is it relevant to our issues today?” Judge Atlee asked.
“Oh, it’s very relevant, Your Honor,” Lanier said casually and with the benefit of
months of preparation. Jake was thoroughly blindsided and almost too angry to think.
Lanier continued, “It goes to the issue of undue influence. Ms. Kidd was an employee, as
was Ms. Lang. Seth had a propensity to seduce women who worked for him, regardless
of color. This weakness led him to make decisions that were not financially sound.”
“Jake?”
“Bullshit. First, Judge, she should not be allowed to testify because she was not listed