Law Stories - Virginia State Bar

Law Stories
First Appearance
by Olivia Fines
My very first court appearance, I arrived
to Arlington County Circuit Court at
9:30 a.m. on a Friday morning. Initially, I
thought, this isn’t so many people — I’ll
be fine. Of course, come 10 a.m., there
were hundreds of lawyers there, many of
whom were left with standing room
only. Stage fright began to set in.
Acknowledging my anxiety, I began
thinking over and over again, “You’ll be
OK. All you have to do is ask to set a
date for trial.”
Of course, this mantra did nothing
to assuage my growing panic. Would I
pass out? Throw up? Be disbarred?
Gripping my briefcase handle ever
so firmly, I felt myself go pale. Cases
were being called, and I had no clue how
the order was being determined. By case
number, party names, or what? Each
time a lawyer concluded before the
judge, I felt my stomach sink, thinking,
“I must be next.”
About fifteen minutes past 10, a
kind female attorney sitting next to me
reached over and said, “First time in
court?”
“Yes,” I squeaked.
“Let me see your case number.” I
showed her my folder. “Don’t worry,
you’ll be at the very end. Nearly everyone will have left. Breathe.”
Relief washed over me. And she was
right. By the time I was called, I had
watched dozens of attorneys approach
the judge — several of whom were reprimanded for poor courtroom etiquette. I
took note, and just prayed that when my
turn came, I would manage to introduce
myself and mutter the words, “I’d like to
set a trial date, your honor.” That’s all I
had to do.
Finally, I was up. Only a handful of
attorneys remained.
Then a judge who shall remain
nameless said to me, “I don’t remember
you. Have you been before this court?”
“No, your honor,” I said, “This is the
first time.” I felt my heartbeat in my ears.
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“Very well then,” the judge said with
a half grin, “Let’s have a recitation of the
case facts.”
A feeling of ice cold water ran
through my veins. My soul escaped from
me, and I hovered over myself looking
down. Suddenly, I realized someone was
talking.
Turns out, it was me!
Possessed by forces unknown, I successfully recited the facts, and we set a
trial date.
Afterwards, as I made my way out
of the courthouse, I recall thinking in
that moment,
I AM A LAWYER!
Olivia Fines is general counsel and director of
contracts for Golden Key Group LLC (GKG), a
government contractor headquartered in Reston.
She has also been an associate with Cornerstone
Venture Law PLC, since 2010, where her practice
focuses on general civil litigation, employment law,
and trademark and copyright law.
One late afternoon I was called to
the Urbanna law office to help with signing wills, power of attorneys, and
advanced medical directives for an
elderly couple. As attorney, staff, and
clients were busy hunched over signing
and stamping the stacks and stacks of
documents before us, my husband
turned to me and out of the blue said,
“Do you want to try something different
tonight, dear?”
A stunned silence hit the group as
we stared at Mr. Buxton with mouths
agape. Whatever was Mr. Buxton
suggesting? We could think of nothing
to say.
Finally it occurred to me that a new
restaurant had opened in Urbanna just
last week and it was called “Something
Different.” I immediately explained this
to the group and we all burst out into
fits of laughter. Not to worry. Mr.
Buxton was just feeling a bit hungry
and was simply offering to take his wife
out to dinner. From that point on it
was by far the most jocular will signing
we have ever attended.
Something Different
Tonight, Dear?
by Mary Wakefield Buxton
The Virginia Lawyer’s suggestion that
special memories from the practice of
law be published in a future issue of our
magazine set my attorney husband and
me off in laughing fits. Oh, the funny
memories over the many years that we
have enjoyed.
My husband of fifty-one years,
Joseph T. “Chip” Buxton III, has practiced law in the commonwealth since
1978. He is definitely a senior attorney
now with the staid, dignified, and greyhaired aura that we immediately think
of when we think “Virginia lawyer.”
Certainly he is not the type that would
ever use an off-color word or tell a
ribald joke.
Mary Wakefield Buxton is the author of twelve
books on love and life in Virginia including a new
novel, “The Private War of William Styron.” She
has been a columnist for the Southside Sentinel
since 1984, writing “One Woman’s Opinion.” She
lives in Urbanna with her husband, Chip Buxton,
senior partner of Buxton & Buxton Inc., and two
beloved spaniels, Dandy and Dasher.
It Had to Be Forged
by Brendan Feeley
As an assistant commonwealth’s attorney
I was prosecuting an individual who was
charged with presenting a forged pre-
Vol. 63 | October 2014 | VIRGINIA LAWYER
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Law Stories
scription at a pharmacy. I called the
pharmacist who had received the forged
script to the stand. In direct examination
he said that he knew the prescription
was forged.
On cross-examination, with a skeptical tone of voice, the defense attorney
asked the pharmacist, “How did you
KNOW the prescription was forged?”
The pharmacist replied, “The handwriting on the prescription was legible.”
Brendan Feeley served as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Arlington from 1972 through
1975. He has been in private practice since 1976.
He also has served as a substitute judge since 1997.
Bubba’s Case
by Karen Kranbuehl
Because of Bubba, I will never forget my
first court appearance. It was 1997 and
my second year of law school was behind
me. The United States Attorney’s Office,
Criminal Division, in Norfolk, had
accepted me as a summer intern. My
first court appearance was before Judge
Rebecca Beach Smith. I had heard she
was tough.
My job that day was to inform the
court of the facts in Bubba’s case in support of a plea bargain. It seemed that
Bubba had been caught (again) driving a
large quantity of marijuana up the East
Coast (again). The day before, I had read
his case summary over and over, learning the facts of his crime. I was determined to succeed in my first court
appearance. What I was not prepared for
was Bubba.
From my seat at the courtroom
table I saw a guard lead a man into the
courtroom. The judge was still in
chambers. Still, my stomach was knotted. Here he was, The Defendant, in the
flesh! Was he nervous, too? Would he
scowl at me? I steeled myself for whatever might happen.
As the guard led Bubba to the other
table, Bubba paused in front of me,
clearing his throat. “I hear this is your
first time in court?”
Gulp. “Yes.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.” He
smiled and winked.
I looked around. Was this for real?
Was this some kind of “prank the
intern” thing? All I could do was thank
him and smile back.
Minutes later I finished my presentation of facts to the court. The judge
thanked me and I sat, heart still pounding. Just then, something caught my eye.
There was Bubba, looking at me. We
made eye contact and I felt a pang of
mixed emotions. I was happy with my
performance, but now I was looking at
the human behind the facts. That limbo
lasted only a moment because the next
thing I saw was a smile spread across
Bubba’s face and his hands in the air giving me a double thumbs up behind his
attorney’s back. His friendliness and
empathy were real.
Fortunately, Bubba was transferred
to a prison in his home state so that his
family could visit him regularly. Yes, he
was going to prison, but clearly he still
had some sunshine to spread around.
Karen Kranbuehl previously clerked for a judge in
Tennessee and worked in private practice in
Chicago. She is now earning a master’s degree in
social work at the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill. She looks forward to combining her
masters and legal background to advocate for
social justice.
Tell Us Your Favorite Law Story
Every lawyer has a story set aside for gatherings of friends or relatives. It’s a
special tale about a legal battle won, or lost. Or about an amusing encounter
with a judge. Or a story with a surprising twist. Maybe it’s a story that will
bring a knowing smile, or shake of the head, from a colleague.
Pick your best law story, your incredible adventure,
your unusual courtroom or even boardroom
escapade, and send it to us. We hope to
get enough of these stories to produce
an ongoing “Law Stories” feature in
Virginia Lawyer. Keep them short—
about 400 words or less—and
send them in.
E-mail your stories to us at
[email protected].
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VIRGINIA LAWYER | October 2014 | Vol. 63
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