Page 17 of Dirty Judge
“How may I help you today, Miss?” The receptionist looked up at me.
“I’m here to file a formal complaint against a judge.”
“What type of complaint?” She tilted her head to the side. “Harassment, bias, conflicts of interest?”
“All of the above.”
She nodded and pulled out a yellow sheet and started writing. “Who did you have on your case?”
“Judge Ashton.”
She immediately stopped writing.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“No.” She crumpled the sheet. “You can go home now, though. Have a good day.”
“No, wait.” I shook my head. “Why are you dismissing me?”
“I’m saving you from yourself, lady.” She shrugged. “Go treat yourself to a margarita and forget about ever coming here.”
“Why?”
“Because Judge Ashton’s record is immaculate, and I know he was definitely more than fair to you.”
“He was mean as hell.” I pulled out my charge sheet. “See all this?”
“Would you prefer jail time?”
“At this point in my life, yes.”
“I need you to take my advice on this…” She opened a drawer, then she took out three ‘Free Legal Drinks Happy Hour’ coupons and handed them to me.
“Drink and let it go. For your own sanity.”
“What’s the point in having a complaint board when you don’t take complaints?”
She pushed the coupons closer.
Ugh. I grabbed them and returned to my car.
Enraged, I searched for Judge Ashton online and the first thing that popped up was a Reddit forum.
It had thousands of daily visitors and more than ten thousand followers. Every single thread was filled with people who seemed just as angry as me.
I took the receptionist’s advice and slipped into the nearby bar for drinks while I read through each and every mean slight against him.
But by the end of the night, I was still mad as hell.
And “letting it go” wasn’t an option…
TEMPORARY INSANITY (N.):
A DEFENSE BY THE ACCUSED THAT HE/SHE WAS BRIEFLY INSANE AT THE TIME THE CRIME WAS COMMITTED AND THEREFORE WAS INCAPABLE OF KNOWING THE NATURE OF HIS/HER ALLEGED CRIMINAL ACT.
OLIVIA
Three Nights Later
