Judge Gold is bald as a cue ball, with the exception of a few hairs that sprout up on his forehead, of all places, giving him a slight resemblance to Charlie Brown. I’ve entered in the middle of another preliminary conference. From the arguments being made, grand larceny seems to be the charge, but neither lawyer has said exactly what was stolen. Judge Gold sets their trial for July 11, eight months away.

I breathe a sigh of relief that he’s giving out July trial dates. That should be enough time for me to get my ducks in a row.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dana Goodwin enter the courtroom. LeMarcus Burrows stands beside her, almost like a protector. They take a position against the wall. For the briefest moment, I catch Dana’s eye. We both instinctively look away.

The bailiff calls out the name of the next case, and a different defendant enters the courtroom from the side door, behind which is the holding pen for those unfortunates who are held over pending trial. The man who enters is wearing the orange prison jumpsuit and is shackled at the ankles. He looks like a criminal—long, knotted hair and tattoos on his neck.

The prosecutor on this case is someone I don’t recognize. He’s a younger guy, no doubt out of narcotics, which is where a lot of the newbies wind up. He announces that the defendant is ready to enter a guilty plea to a Class C felony, and then reads: “Defendant did knowingly and unlawfully possess a controlled substance—to wit, crack cocaine—with intent to sell it. He is thereby guilty of a criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, a Class C felony.”

The defendant must have priors. Conviction on a Class B for a recidivist normally gets you twenty-five years. By pleading down to a Class C felony, Mr. Neck Tattoo is likely going to cut his sentence in half.

Judge Gold goes through the ritual of accepting a guilty plea, beginning by asking Mr. Neck Tattoo whether he wants to change his previously entered plea.

“Yeah, to guilty,” he says.

Then the judge reads from a script, getting a “yes” answer to each question.

“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty? Do you understand that by pleading guilty you are forfeiting a right to a fair trial by a jury of your peers? That you have the right to be provided with counsel if you cannot afford counsel? That you have the right not to testify in your own defense? That by pleading guilty, you also give up the right to appeal?”

In response to: “Has anyone offered you any inducement or promise to enter this plea?” Mr. Neck Tattoo finally says, “No.”

“Good,” Judge Gold says. “I accept your guilty plea and sentence you to twelve years.”