The 37th Amendment: A Novel by Susan Shelley Page B

the desk and sat in a high-backed brown leather chair that seemed far too wide for her slender frame. “Since time is so short,” she said, “why don’t you start by telling me a bit about the case?”
    “It’s the Robert Rand case,” Howe said.
    Justice Crawford’s eyes widened. “Oh,” she said. “I wasn’t aware that there was a federal question in that case.”
    “Yes, ma’am, we are preparing to file an appeal with this Court challenging Mr. Rand’s conviction on constitutional grounds.”
    Justice Crawford frowned. “It’s just a local murder case, isn’t it?” she asked. “Did the crime take place on federal land? Was the victim a federal employee? I don’t see a likelihood of racial or gender discrimination. Where’s the federal issue here?”
    Howe was silent.
    Justice Crawford tried again. “Did California treat this defendant in a manner inconsistent with state law? Is there an equal protection issue?”
    Howe said nothing.
    “Mr. Howe, I have great respect for you,” Justice Crawford said. “I’d like to help you. But the Robert Rand case is exactly the kind of case in which the U.S. Supreme Court is not empowered to intervene.”
    “Justice Crawford,” Howe said slowly. “We believe the State of California has violated fundamental rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. We believe Congress acted unconstitutionally when it limited the rights of defendants in cases of this type to take an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. We believe that act of Congress should be struck down and we intend to use an appeal in this case to make that argument before the Court.”
    Justice Crawford was silent.
    “Unless you act, an innocent man will be killed by the State of California.”
    “How do you know that?”
    Howe opened his briefcase. He removed a thick stack of papers held together with a rubber band. Casey had tied up the hotel’s fax system for an hour and a half. “The details will have to wait,” Howe said. “But the essence is this: Robert Rand’s image was everywhere on television in the days immediately before his arrest. While he matched the description of the suspect in a general way, he actually was recognized from his TV performance. That’s how he was identified prior to his arrest, and that’s why he was picked out of a lineup.”
    Justice Crawford looked down at her hands, folded in front of her on the desk.
    “We plan to challenge the limits on habeas corpus so no state defendant in a capital case is left without recourse to this Court,” Howe said. “The question before you, respectfully, is whether you will take this opportunity to save an innocent man’s life with a stay of execution pending his appeal.”
    “You know,” Justice Crawford said, “this isn’t 1956. This is 2056. No one in this country has the right to due process of law. Under the 37th Amendment, all you have is the right to be tried under the law of the land. And the law of the land does not give the United States government or this Court a veto over the workings of California’s criminal justice system. Congress limited our appellate jurisdiction in state criminal cases, as it is empowered to do by the Constitution’s ‘exceptions’ clause. You can look it up yourself, it’s in Article III, Section 2. Maybe you can find a loophole. We couldn’t.”
    Howe felt as if a rock had landed in his stomach.
    Justice Crawford looked up at him with sad eyes. “The appeal you contemplate is meritless, possibly frivolous,” she said. “I have no power to grant a stay of execution pending such an appeal.”
    “Justice Crawford,” Howe pleaded, “This is 2056, not 1856. This Court cannot stand by while a state violates the fundamental rights of a United States citizen.”
    “This Court has been told by the sovereign people of the United States that it is not empowered to overstep its constitutional authority. Your fight is not with me. It is with the people of the State of California.