Judge Marinelli didn’t look as if he was in a good mood. He told the clerk of the court to have the accused brought in.

Five minutes later, Cardace was behind the bars, in the space reserved for defendants who are in custody. He was dressed soberly, in a blue sweater and white shirt. More boyish and more adult at the same time.

Just as Marinelli was asking his associate judge to read out the charges, Lorenza arrived. She waved to us from the public benches. Consuelo went to her and told her she would have to wait outside: witnesses are not allowed in court until they have testified.

The associate judge, Valentini, had been an assistant prosecutor. A good magistrate, quiet, reserved and, in my experience, competent and honest. Not just in the sense that he wasn’t a crook: he was someone capable of not taking advantage of his own position, not abusing his own power. Something 172which can easily be done even without committing crimes. Valentini was someone who didn’t dig his heels in when he realized he had made a mistake.

It has long been a topic of debate whether, in a hearing such as the one about to start, a magistrate like that is better or worse than one who’s less adequate. A magistrate who’s mediocre, lazy and incompetent (just one of these unenviable qualities is sufficient, but they’re usually found together in the same individuals) is easier to convince: you just have to suggest that any alternative solution to yours is very, very tiresome to account for.

A good defence lawyer (and one who’s perhaps a little open-minded) is pleased to have a lazy judge in a complicated court hearing, the kind in which you have to use complex arguments to establish your version of events beyond a reasonable doubt. Let it be clear that writing a ruling justifying an acquittal, in these cases, is much easier than writing one that irrefutably justifies a guilty verdict.

Valentini gave his summary off the cuff. In twenty minutes he effectively summed up the ruling, without forgetting any important detail and without getting lost in the unimportant ones. He ended by saying that the defence had presented a number of cogent requests for the submission of new evidence.

Judge Marinelli asked if the assistant prosecutor wished to make any observations on the requests presented by the defence.

Gastoni stood up and in a severe tone said yes, she had a number of observations. Her voice was nasal and quite low. Not pleasant to listen to in general, and decidedly unpleasant in the context of a court hearing.