Objection | SVU

Chapter 14

The jury had taken 4 days to deliberate, and I spent those 4 days trying my best to forget about this case and my testimony. If it was my fault that Thompson walked, I would never forgive myself. As soon as I had gotten the text that the jury had reached a verdict, the entire squad came around me and accompanied me to the courthouse. I hadn't discussed anything with them, and I didn't know if I would. I still hadn't told them about my parents, and I had no clue whether I was going to tell them about my uncle.

We arrived at the courthouse at around 10am, and I saw Rafael standing on the steps outside. We all greeted him, and he leaned over to me and asked, "You okay?" I replied nervously, "As okay as I'll ever be."

As soon as everyone settled in the courtroom, the judge asked the jury, "After 4 days of deliberation, have you reached a verdict?" The lead juror replied, "We have, your Honor." The judge asked, "On the felony charge of assault in the first degree, how do you find?"

I held my breath and Liv and Amaro sat next to me. The lead juror finally spoke up and said, "We find the defendant guilty, your Honor." I felt like I was able to breathe again. Rafael turned around to look at me, and his smile showed through his eyes. The judge restored order in the courtroom and asked, "On the felony charge of sexual assault in the second degree, how do you find?"

Again, the lead juror replied, "Guilty."

The judge said, "The State of New York thanks you for your service. This court is dismissed."

I simply sat still as I watched everyone leave the courtroom. My eyes were glued to the police officers as they cuffed Thompson and took him away, and I let out a breath of relief. I looked up to see Rafael greeting people, but I knew that he wanted to come over and check on me. Liv and Rollins were sitting with Rachel as the conviction sunk in with her, and Fin came over and sat down next to me. He quietly asked, "How are you feeling?" I continued to stare straight ahead as I replied, "Good. He needed to be put away." Fin pat my shoulder, and then he headed back to the precinct with Amaro. Rollins and Liv were still with the victim, and I saw Munch sit next to me.

"You're going to need to tell the squad about this, Jess." He said, sighing. I trusted Munch with alot, and I didn't even tell him about this. I sighed and replied, "I know... Can it wait until tomorrow?" Munch nodded patiently and got up. As he was about to leave, he turned back to me and said, "I'm proud of you, Mitchell." I smiled lightly at Munch as he left.

After speaking with the judge and some members of the jury after the conviction, Rafael immediately came over to me. He enveloped me in a hug, and I panicked and said, "I thought you said that you can't show physical contact with me." He squeezed me tighter, not wanting to let me go, as he whispered in my ear, "The trial's over. You aren't my witness anymore... You're my fiancé." I gripped Rafael tightly and said, "Thank you, Rafi." We separated, and he smiled. "I'm glad he's gone, Jess."

*

The next day in the precinct was bound to be tough, but I already knew that. I walked into the squad room, and I saw everyone sitting at their desks. I appraoched Munch and said, "Can I just get this out of the way now?" He nodded, and he gathered everyone into the interview room that was adjoining to the lieutenant's office. Munch patted me on the back as he entered, and I followed him. We all sat down, and I said, "I owe you guys an explanation for my sporadic testimony yesterday." I saw Amaro open his mouth, and Munch silenced him.

"Everything that I said on the stand was true. After my mother died on the job working for the Anti-Crime Unit in the NYPD, my uncle took alot of the slack off of my dad. My dad was an ADA in Staten Island, and he handled homicide cases. He had long hours, so my brother and my uncle took care of me. My uncle would abuse me when my brother was out with friends or at his soccer games..." I paused, and everyone looked at me with sympathetic and sorrowful expressions. I continued, "I also think that you guys deserve to know what happened to my parents."