“Prosecutor versus Dragoljub Zaric,” the Deputy Registrar called. “Case number IT-96-30. State your appearances please.”

“Bradford Stone for the Prosecution.”

“Kevin Anderson for the accused,”

“And I am a lawyer from Belgrade, Your Honor,” the man seated next to Kevin announced. “I am an attorney for the government of Serbia and Montenegro. My government would like to join in the Motion for Return of Property filed on behalf of the accused.”

Judge Davidson looked at the lawyer sternly. “This is a hearing on Mr. Anderson’s contempt.”

“I thought perhaps the Court might address the legality of the searches of our Embassy and Mr. Anderson’s home as well, since the issues appear to be intertwined with the alleged contempt.”

Kevin appreciated the Belgrade lawyer’s use of the word “alleged.”

“We’ll see about that,” Judge Davidson muttered. Turning to Kevin, he said, “Mr. Anderson, this is the time set for you to show cause why you should not be held in contempt for violation of this Court’s protective order.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. I’m ready to call my first witness.”

“We don’t need to hear witnesses. Let me hear what you have to say for yourself.”

“Your Honor, I would like to call a witness who will establish my innocence. It will be much more convincing than anything I have to tell you.”

“Well, make it quick,” Judge Davidson grumbled.

“I call John Wells.”

Wells’ head bolted up from the back row of tables on the prosecution side of the courtroom. Bradford Stone, too, was startled, and was soon on his feet.

“Your Honor,” Stone whined. “He has no right to call our chief investigator as his witness. It’s just an excuse for mischief.”

Judge Davidson turned to Kevin. “This better be relevant to the contempt, counsel, or I’m going to cut your examination right off. Mr. Wells, come forward and take the solemn declaration.”

Wells walked to the witness chair and promised to tell the truth. When he was seated, his look of surprise had been replaced by the look of a snake coiled and ready.

“Mr. Wells,” Kevin asked pleasantly, “as part of your investigation in this matter, did you recover the box of materials from the Post Office that I was seen giving to Zoran Vacinovic at the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro?”

“Yes, I did.”

Kevin wanted to get right to the point and not give Wells an opportunity to take any gratuitous swipes at him. “It’s true, is it not, that not a single piece of paper in that box related to a protected witness or was covered by the protective order?”

Wells hesitated, trying to find a way to answer the question and damage Kevin. Finally, he replied, “That appears to be the case.”

“I have nothing further,” Kevin announced, sitting down after asking only two questions.

Judge Davidson struggled to assimilate what he had just heard. He slowly turned to Bradford Stone. “Cross-examination, Mr. Stone?”

Bradford Stone stood erect, his chin pointed in the air. “Mr. Wells,” he asked, “who did Mr. Anderson give the materials to?”

“Zoran Vacinovic,” Wells replied, then added, “a high ranking member of the secret police.”

“What ethnic group makes up the secret police?”

“They are all Serbs.”

“And who are the people most likely to retaliate against Muslim witnesses before this Tribunal?”

“The Serbs, especially those in the secret police.”

“Now, when you searched Mr. Anderson’s home, was he on the phone with someone?”

“Yes, Zoran Vacinovic.”

“And what was Mr. Anderson’s demeanor when you searched his home?”

“He was extremely hostile,” Wells responded.

“In your experience, is that the normal reaction of someone who has done nothing wrong?” Stone asked haughtily.

“People who have nothing to hide don’t act like that.”

“No further questions, Your Honor,” Stone said, sitting down triumphantly.

“Any redirect examination?” the judge asked Kevin.

Kevin was sorely tempted to take Wells on, but his instincts told him to leave it alone. Surely he would not be found in contempt simply because he was outraged at the search of his home. “No, thank you, Your Honor.”

“Mr. Stone,” Judge Davidson inquired, “do you wish to call any witnesses?”

“No, Your Honor. Mr. Anderson has called our witness for us. It is plain that Mr. Anderson violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the protective order. Conspiring with a member of the Serbian secret police is a serious matter, regardless of whether the materials were literally covered by the order or not. We don’t know what kind of information Mr. Anderson passed on to the man orally during their two hour lunch, on the telephone, or at other meetings.”

“Mr. Anderson,” Judge Davidson said when Stone had finished, “Do you have anything further to say before I rule?”

“I think Mr. Stone said it best, Your Honor.”

Judge Davidson shot him a quizzical look.

“He said ‘we don’t know.’ They didn’t know what was in the box when they invaded my home and a foreign embassy. Now we do know. And it is clear that no violation of the protective order took place. What is clear, however, is that the searches were illegal, and I would ask the court to order the material returned immediately.”

“What is your position on the search issue, Mr. Stone?”

“Your Honor, there is no reason for the court to have to concern itself with the legality of the search. We do not intend to use any of the seized evidence at Mr. Zaric’s trial. Therefore, even if the search was illegal, which it most assuredly was not, there is no evidence for the court to exclude, and no prejudice to the accused from the searches.”

Kevin was on his feet. “Your Honor, that doesn’t solve the problem one bit. They seized attorney-client materials from my home dealing with our defense strategy. Just having knowledge of the contents of those materials taints their whole case and prejudices the accused, whether they directly use the evidence or not.”

“Wait until I ask for your position before stating it,” Judge Davidson rebuked Kevin. “Now, Mr. Stone, what about the so-called privileged materials?”

“That is also no problem. Our office has erected a Chinese wall for all of the items seized during these searches. Neither Mr. Jacobson, the investigator on Mr. Zaric’s case, nor I have seen these materials and they will be shielded from us and anyone else who works on this case. Therefore, there will be no use made of any privileged materials against the accused.”

“Very well,” Judge Davidson replied.

Kevin wanted to offer a rebuttal, but the Judge didn’t call on him, so he remained silent.

The lawyer from Belgrade, however, rose from his chair. “Our government’s interests have not been addressed. We would like you to rule the search illegal so that the world knows the truth.”

“The Court will be in recess,” Judge Davidson ordered. “The world will know the truth when we reconvene in thirty minutes.”