The courtroom was silent, waiting.
I could feel every eye on me—waiting for my justification, waiting for me to stumble.
An objection like this was risky.
I could have simply said, "The defendant is not required to speak." That would have been the legally sound move.
But legal correctness wasn't the goal here.
Convincing the jury was.
And calling an objection like this, at the wrong time, in the wrong way?
That would make us look guilty.
There was also the possibility that someone on the jury had been bought off. If that were the case, then simply throwing legal precedent at them wouldn't be enough.
I needed to frame this carefully.
I needed to make it seem like forcing my defendant to speak would be an unjust act.
I straightened my posture, my voice calm but firm.
