“The court will resume next Wednesday,” the leading judge announced, “and please, be here at precisely nine-thirty a.m.” he concluded, striking the gavel.
Yiftach and Melody returned to the office. Melody went to the library to find materials Yiftach had asked for, while he sat down facing the computer screen.
Weissman showed up. “So how did it go?” he inquired.
“We’re just beginning, not much has happened as yet. Elbaz claimed compulsion defense.”
“Obviously…” Weissman leaned against the doorpost and folded his arms.
“Yes… totally expected. I presented to the judges three rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court that place responsibility in such circumstances…”
“The U.S. Supreme Court?” Weissman questioned, “and what about Section 34-O of the Penal Code?” lines of concern furrowed his forehead.
“34-O…” Yiftach raised his head sharply and his eyes widened in horror. “The obligation to withstand a danger or a threat…” He covered his face with both his hands and hissed weakly: “How did that escape me? Section 34-O of the Penal Code includes a clause under compulsion defense which defines situations in which this defense is inapplicable. According tothis addendum, the perpetrator cannot receive protection and is obligated to carry criminal responsibility if his presence in the dangerous circumstances was mandatory. Such obligation can stem from a law or a position, such as a prison guard or a policeman. How did I forget that?”
Weissman approached Yiftach and placed a hand on his shoulder. His anger was milder than expected. Yiftach didn’t move. “What’s going on? For weeks now you’re not really here. You are present in body, but your mind is somewhere far away.” A bleak cloud filled the room.
After a silence that seemed like eternity, Yiftach raised his head and said: “I must get out and clear my head. I will ask Julie to mark down a day’s vacation on my way out.”
Weissman narrowed his eyes and looked at Yiftach long and hard. “Only on condition, that till the end of the week, you will provide me with some explanations… and you needn’t say anything to Julie on your way out.”
Yiftach collected his stuff and got into the car. He drove to Tel Aviv and continued until he reached the beach. Everyone around him seemed happy and free of worries. For a moment, he was tempted to remove his clothes and run naked along the waterline, like a madman. He removed his shoes and sat on the yellow sand in his pressed, expensive suit. Patches of blue sky peeped between the clouds, patterns of white and blue that slowly changed shape with the wind. He looked up and let his eyes lose focus. He placed his feet in the water and the waves whished between his toes. He lay back on the sand and let his eyes close. It was 2:30 in the afternoon. The sounds of the sea and the bathers grew distant and faded away until there was only a fragile silence around him. He remained lying on the sand for forty minutes and tried to free his mind of that same stubborn thought, but to no avail. Now he only hoped that Weissman wouldn’t think he had lost his mind. He hoped that his bosswould fully understand the immense potential hidden in the brilliant idea he had masterminded, and that he would agree to join him in a move that could change the lives of all the people on Earth. There was no longer anything sweet about the secret, and he can no longer keep it to himself, he thought. He will soon explain everything to Weissman.
Chapter Eight
“...and behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”
Book of Kings I, 19:11-12
“Young lady,” the judge spoke softly. Melody—in the midst of the first court hearing in which Yiftach allowed her to appear before a judge—took a deep breath and stood to face him. “According to Section 25 of the Penal Code, one’s attempt to commit an offense is when the offense has not been completed by him, and if he commits an act that is void of premeditation. The legislator here wishes to indicate that we are to carefully differentiate between the various stages of an incomplete offense: The first stage is the ‘Preparatory Stage,’ and none of the actions in this stage are punishable by law; the second stage is the ‘Stage of Attempt’—meaning, an attempt to commit the offense—and every action in this stage is absolutely punishable by law. The really hard question is, when does one pass from the Preparatory Stage, crosses the line and enters the Stage of Attempt which, as mentioned, is a stage that can carry criminal responsibility. I will illustrate this with a person who seeks to cause the death of another. In order to do so, he gets out of bed in the morning, brushes his teeth, leaves his house, gets into his car and drives to an ammunitions store. He parks his car and enters the shop. After purchasing a pistol and bullets from that shop, he drivesto his destination and climbs up to the roof of the building that overlooks the apartment of the person he intends to kill. He cocks his weapon and aims it at his target. However, as he sees his target through the gunsight, he changes his mind and gives up his plan. In this example, has the line separating preparation and attempt been crossed? And, if so—when?”
Melody was about to say something, but the seasoned judge continued. “I am dwelling on this point for a reason. Young lady, in this case, the State Attorney’s team is asking the court to convict a tenth-grade student for having tried to poison her classmate. According to you, the defendant planted an inhaler in her friend’s school bag—identical to the inhaler the complainant uses to relieve the symptoms of asthma she suffers from—so that she would inhale the poisonous gas in that inhaler which presumably she had prepared. However, also according to you, the defendant came to her senses, quickly went to her girlfriend’s bag and managed to remove the supposedly poisonous inhaler before the complainant could use it.” He removed his glasses and squinted, creating a contemplative and tormented look. “I find it hard to understand, therefore, where, according to you, the line was crossed separating preparation from attempt?”
Yiftach observed Melody from the last row in the courtroom, feeling assured that she wouldn’t let him down. She gazed for a moment at the dark floor, pressed her lips together, and her cheeks were on fire when she raised her head and responded to the judge. “Indeed, Your Honor, it is incumbent upon the prosecution to convince the court that the defendant left the boundaries of preparation and entered the stage of committing an offense. We are convinced that indeed it is the case, for the defendant placed the inhaler in the complainant’s bag after she had purchased the poisonous substance and injected the solution into it. In other words, the defendant reached the finalstage of committing the offense. If we apply the criteria of the different stages to this case, we surely will reach the conclusion that the line—between preparation and attempt—was, in fact, crossed: The first criterion in this regard is that of the ‘Test of Sufficient Proximity’—this criterion addresses the proximity in terms of place and time to committing the offense. The defendant, who was present at the scene of the event (proximity of place), carried out all the required actions on her part in order to reach the stage of full implementation of the offense (proximity of time); the second criterion is the ‘Test of the Effective Step’—which examines whether the defendant carried out an initial, overt step to fulfill her objective, a step that set off a chain of actions that, had it not been aborted, would have led to the full implementation of the offense. In line with this test, the first action in the chain is the attempt. In the case before us, the defendant carried out even the final action in her contemptable plan—placing the poisoned inhaler in her friend’s bag—which leads us to conclude all the more so that the initial action was also carried out; the third and last test is that of the ‘silent movie’—if the court observes the defendant’s actions as if it were watching a silent movie, surely the court would understand that she was planning to harm the complainant. I believe, Your Honor that, based on these tests, the case before us is undoubtedly an attempt and not merely preparation.”
The first hearing in which Yiftach enabled his young colleague to appear before a meticulous, resolute judge ended successfully. They left the courtroom and went to the cafeteria for a drink.
***
“You know, I really envy people like Yiftach and Melody, and I’m sure you’re also like them, people who aren’t afraid to talk before an audience,” Tammi said sadly. “In such situations, Iimmediately imagine all those many pairs of eyes staring at me and it totally paralyzes me. I’ve told myself a thousand times that this fear—of talking in front of an audience—has no basis. I know that there is no venomous scorpion behind the microphone, that there’s no chance of my falling off the stage and dying instantly, and that apparently no one will shoot me with a poisoned arrow. But these rational thoughts don’t make the fear disappear. Why I am so afraid?”
“Perhaps because you assume that your reputation is at stake and, therefore, you’re afraid to make a mistake. Understand? It may be that you imagine that what you say in public may impact on your future… socially, professionally… such an approach can really be paralyzing.”
She thought about Ro’el’s words and nodded slightly. “And what feedback did Yiftach give Melody on her very first appearance as an attorney equal to all others?”
***
Melody looked at him and raised her eyebrows in anticipation, but he didn’t say a word.
“Well?!” she chastised him.
“Well… what?” he queried.
She smiled, knowing that he knew just how badly she wanted to hear his feedback. “How was I? Give me a grade, from 1 to 100.”
“Eighty-five. Very good, almost,” he answered nonchalantly.
She had expected more than that. It was a backhanded compliment, she thought. The ‘very good’ gladdened her, but the ‘almost’ was a bit annoying. “Why the ‘almost?’” she asked.
