The courtroom was very quiet all afternoon. It was not exciting. It was not loud. It was just calm. People who were called to testify had. Gone. They talked about what happened and when. They showed videos from security cameras and computer records. The jury listened carefully sometimes leaning forward when they heard something that sounded important.
Computer records always sound important. They have times when things happened. They seem exact. That is why when the judge asked to see the record of who used the elevator in the courthouse nobody thought it would change what was happening in the trial.
The man who was accused of a crime was sitting at a table wearing a suit. He had been calm all day listening to what was being said. His hands were on the table. His fingers were together.
“Clerk ” the judge said in a voice “show us the record of who used the elevator on June 14th.”
The big screen near the jury turned on. The clerk started looking through the computer record. The room was so quiet that you could hear the machine that was showing the pictures.
Then she stopped. “The elevator was used to go to the floor at 6:38 p.m. ” she said.
The jury got a little excited. 6:38 P.m. Was a time. The people who were accusing the man said that he used the elevator that evening to get to a floor where only certain people are allowed. They said he did it around that time.
It sounded like it made sense. It sounded logical. Until the man who was accused stood up a little straighter in his seat. It was a movement but you could see it.
His voice was calm when he spoke. “You need a keycard to get to the third floor after 6:00 p.m. ” he said.
The prosecutor, the person who was accusing the man stopped talking. The judge leaned forward a little. “Explain ” he said.
The man who was accused kept his voice calm. “Only people with keycards can get to the third floor after 6:00 p.m. ” he said.
The jury looked at each other quickly. The judge turned to the clerk. “Is that true?” he asked.
The clerk nodded carefully. “Yes, your honor. You need a keycard to get to the third floor after 6:00 p.m. ” she said.
The room felt different now. Because if someone got to the floor at 6:38 p.m. it was not an accident. It was not something that just happened. It meant that someone had permission.
The judges voice was sharper now. “Clerk, whose keycard was used to get to the floor?” he asked.
The room was very quiet. The clerk typed on the computer looking for the answer. The jury leaned forward waiting to hear.
“Keycard number 47A-Delta ” she said.
The prosecutor moved in his seat. “And who does that keycard belong to?” the judge asked.
The clerk looked a little nervous as she kept looking on the computer. “It belongs to Thomas Avery, the Senior Records Supervisor ” she said.
The people in the courtroom started talking. Thomas Avery was not the man who was accused. He worked at the courthouse.
The prosecutor stood up quickly. “Your honor this does not mean the man is not guilty. He could have followed someone ” he said.
The clerk said, “After hours the elevator only works with individual keycards. Each time someone uses it it is recorded.”
The prosecutors face got tight. The judge looked at the man who was accused. “Do you have a keycard for the floor?” he asked.
“No, your honor ” the man said. “I never have.”
The people who were accusing the man said that he got to the restricted records by sneaking in when nobody was looking.. The elevator record did not show that. It showed that someone with a keycard got to the third floor.
That keycard belonged to someone else
The prosecutor had said that the man was near the elevator around 6:30 p.m. based on a video from a camera in the hallway.. The camera did not show who swiped the keycard.
The mans lawyer stood up slowly. “Your honor if Thomas Averys keycard was used to get to the floor then either Mr. Avery did it or someone used his keycard ” he said.
The judge nodded a little. “Is there another record of someone using a keycard?” he asked.
The clerk. Said, “No, your honor. One keycard was used at that time.”
The prosecutor tried to say something. It did not sound convincing. The jury was not sure what to think anymore.
Thomas Avery was called back to the courtroom. He had said that he left work at 5:45 p.m. That day. But the record showed that his keycard was used at 6:38 p.m.
The judge asked him “Mr. Avery did you use your keycard to get to the floor at 6:38 p.m.?”
Avery said, “No, your honor. I left before 6:00 p.m.”
The judge said, “Your keycard says otherwise.”
Avery looked nervous. “I might have left it at my desk ” he said.
The jury reacted to this
Leaving a keycard unattended is not allowed at the courthouse.
The mans lawyer asked, “Was your keycard reported missing?”
Avery said, “No.”
The lawyer asked, “Was it reported used by someone “
Avery said, “No.”
The lawyer said, “So your keycard was used to get to the third floor but you were not there?”
Avery did not say anything.
The judge leaned back in his chair. “We need to figure out if the man could have gotten to the floor by himself ” he said.
The prosecutor did not say anything. Because if the man could not have gotten to the floor then it does not matter what he wanted to do.
The man who was accused remained calm. He did not smile. He did not get upset. He just said one thing.
“The third floor is restricted after 6:00 p.m.“
That one sentence changed everything.
The judge asked to see the video from the hallway. The time on the video was 6:36 p.m. Someone was walking towards the elevator.. You could not see their face.
The prosecutor had said that it was the man who was accused.. Now the mans lawyer said, “That person does not swipe a keycard.”
The video showed that the elevator doors were already open when the person got in. That meant someone else had opened them first. At 6:38 p.m. With Thomas Averys keycard.
The courtroom was quiet thinking about this.
The prosecutors story was not making sense anymore. Not loudly,. Quietly.
What did it mean? If Thomas Averys keycard was used to get to the floor and he said he was not there… Then. His keycard was stolen or someone used it without permission.
The man who was accused looked at the jury for the time that day. Not begging, not being dramatic. Just calm.
Because now everyone was thinking about who had permission to get to the floor. Not about who was but about who could get in.
Permission leaves a record.
Part 2 – A Glimpse
The judge spoke slowly. “The elevator record does not show that the man could have gotten to the floor by himself. We need to look at the keycard rules again.”
The prosecutor said something. It was not convincing. The jury was thinking about something now. The evidence that seemed clear before now seemed incomplete.
As the day ended the man who was accused was taken out of the courtroom calmly. He did not celebrate. He did not talk.
Because he understood something that the rest of the room was just starting to understand.
Getting to a floor is not just about being there. It is about having permission.
If a floor is restricted… Then someone with permission has to answer for it.
The morning the records, from the courthouse computers were shown.
The badge scan data said that Averys access card had opened the side stairwell door at 6:41 p.m.
Avery said he was already sitting in his car by that time.
The team that was defending Avery asked for the location data from his work phone.
The prosecutor did not want them to have it.
The judge said they could have it anyway.
When the information came up on the screen in the courtroom it showed that Averys phone was still using the courthouse internet at 6:44 p.m.
Averys face changed when he saw this.
The people on the jury saw it too.
Avery just stood there.
Now the question was not about whether some areas of the building were, off limits.
The question was who was allowed to go to those areas and why they were lying about it.
If someone was going to those areas after hours what were they trying to hide from everyone?