Conscience of the Court

Conscience of the Court Summary | Detailed Summary

As the story begins, Laura Lee Kimble is sitting in a courtroom awaiting her trial. When her name is called, a policeman indicates to her that she should stand and then leads her to a rail in front of the judge. Aware that there is a great deal of animosity toward her by those in the courtroom, she looks straight ahead.

Laura Lee has spent the last three weeks in jail, and although she does not know what lies ahead for her - death by the electric chair, life in prison, or a mob lynching - she is resolved to be ready for whatever happens. She knows that this trial is merely a formality and is being held to show the community that justice will be served.

As the charges against her are read - felonious and aggravated assault, mayhem, premeditated attempted murder, obscene and abusive language - Laura Lee finds herself fascinated by the enormity of the words used to describe her actions. In fact, she is so engrossed in her own thoughts that she does not immediately answer the clerk's question regarding her plea. When the police officer prompts her to answer, Laura Lee says she isn't sure she understands the words used to describe the charges against her.

The look of bewilderment on Laura Lee's face causes the judge to take a few moments to ponder his response. He is well aware of what Laura Lee has been accused of doing, but now that he finds himself face to face with her, he cannot imagine her committing such a brutal act. Finally, he explains to Laura Lee that the clerk would like to know if she believes she is or isn't guilty of the charges against her. Laura Lee thanks the judge for his explanation and then says that although she admits to having hit Clement Beasley, it was only after he hit her, so she isn't sure if this alone makes her guilty. As she responds, she glances at Beasley, who is heavily bandaged and lying on a hospital cot. The judge instructs Laura Lee to take her seat and wait for her case to be called.

When the prosecutor indicates that he is ready to proceed, the judge notes that Laura Lee does not have legal representation. Speaking directly to Laura Lee, he tells her that the court can appoint a lawyer to represent her if she would like. Laura Lee declines the offer, telling the judge that she doesn't think having a lawyer will affect the trial's outcome. Hearing this causes the judge to become introspective for a moment; he recalls his own time as an eager, zealous law student who aspired to follow in the footsteps of his hero, John Marshall, and work to preserve and protect human rights. Meanwhile, the prosecutor is bustling about the courtroom and going through the process of selecting a jury for Laura Lee's trial.

One by one, the witnesses take the stand and give their testimony. It is all fairly consistent and describes how Laura Lee beat Beasley to within inches of death. Beasley's own appearance on the stand causes the courtroom to buzz with anger and forces the judge to repeatedly demand quiet. Beasley begins to tell his story by explaining that he had first come in contact with Laura Lee after having loaned her employer a considerable sum of money. When the date by which the loan was to have been repaid passed, Beasley went to her employer's home to inquire as to why the promised payment had not been made. When he arrived, he found that Laura Lee's employer, a woman named Mrs. Clairborne, was not at home; in fact, according to Laura Lee, she had left Jacksonville altogether. As Beasley spoke with Laura Lee, he noticed that she was in the process of packing up the house, an observation that troubled him, since the home's contents had been used as collateral for the loan. Although he doubted that the value of the contents would be enough to cover the full amount, he nonetheless returned the next day with a moving van so that he could seize the contents and protect the loan. As he entered the house, Laura Lee attacked him, and Beasley says he feels certain he would have been left for dead if help hadn't arrived.

As Beasley recounts this story, Laura Lee finds herself becoming enraged. In addition to being angered by the untruths Beasley tells regarding her own actions, Laura Lee is incensed that he is lying about the worth of Mrs. Clairborne's possessions; certainly, her house full of antiques would more than cover the six hundred dollar loan. Laura Lee's emotions make her think of her husband, Tom, who time and again had told her "the world had not use for the love and friending that [Mrs. Clairborne] was ever trying to give." For the first time, Laura Lee begins to think that perhaps Tom had been right; even Mrs. Clairborne has deserted her now, when she needed her most.

Laura Lee's thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the judge's voice. Having concluded his testimony, Beasley is being questioned further by the judge. When Beasley confirms that he made a loan to Mrs. Clairborne, the judge asks why the note through which the loan was made was not entered into evidence. When Beasley reluctantly says that he did not think it was necessary, the judge nonetheless orders that the note be immediately presented. Resigned to do as ordered, the prosecutor rests his case.

The courtroom falls momentarily silent, which is a sign that Laura Lee believes indicates she will be found guilty. As she contemplates this, she realizes that she is not afraid; her husband and her family are all dead, and Mrs. Clairborne has deserted her; she is all alone in the world. Resigned to accept whatever her fate is, Laura Lee holds back the tears that are beginning to well in her eyes.

Before allowing her to give her testimony, the judge tells Laura Lee that despite the fact that she refused legal representation, she is still entitled to tell her side of the story. When Laura Lee does not leave her seat to take her place on the witness stand, the judge reminds her that both sides of the story need to be heard before a verdict can be given and that it would be very helpful to him if she would share her account of what happened. Anxious to oblige the judge, she takes her seat on the witness stand and after being sworn in, begins to recount the events in question. Before she begins, however, Laura Lee addresses the jury and tells them that she is not a learned woman and that she is ignorant about a great many things. She tells them that she will tell them exactly what happened on the day in question and leave it to them to decide whether or not she is guilty.

As she begins her testimony, Laura Lee says that the first time she met Beasley had been three months earlier, the day after her husband died. Mrs. Clairborne had called the funeral home to retrieve Tom's body so that it could be prepared for burial in Georgia. After calling the funeral home, Mrs. Clairborne had left the house without telling Laura Lee where she was going, an act that Laura Lee said was unusual, since her employer always told her where she would be. Mrs. Clairborne returned a short time later with Beasley. The two walked through the house looking at Mrs. Clairborne's antiques and talking in low voices, which made it difficult for Laura Lee to hear what was being said. Laura Lee assumed that Mrs. Clairborne was in some sort of trouble, because although she had been offered large sums of money for some of her antiques in the past, she would never part with them; they were family heirlooms. Eventually, Mrs. Clairborne and Beasley left; Mrs. Clairborne returned a short time later and told Laura Lee that all of the arrangements for their trip to Savannah to bury Tom had been made and that the tickets were in her purse. The next day, Laura Lee and Mrs. Clairborne had boarded a train for Savannah, and, after a lovely funeral service, they had buried Tom.

Having completed that part of the story, Laura Lee re-emphasizes her belief in Mrs. Clairborne's innocence by telling the jury that she had no reason to run away; she has plenty of money and receives an interest payment every six months which she uses for her living expenses. Laura Lee explains that Mrs. Clairborne simply went to Miami to rest; between the death of her own husband and then Tom, the last few years had been emotionally draining and had taken their toll. Laura Lee says that Mrs. Clairborne had never mentioned having borrowed money from anyone.

Laura Lee then recounts the day in question. She describes how Beasley arrived at their home and asked for Mrs. Clairborne. When Laura Lee told him she was in Miami, he asked when she was due to arrive home. Laura Lee went inside to get a letter Mrs. Clairborne had sent so that she could give him the address at which she could be reached. The next morning, he returned with a moving van and ordered Laura Lee to stay out of his way while he cleared the house of its furnishings. When Laura Lee protested that she couldn't allow this to happen since she had been left in charge of the home, Beasley once again ordered her to stay out of his way. Rather than step aside, Laura Lee braced one arm across the doorway to keep him from entering. This infuriated Beasley, and after exchanging a few more words with Laura Lee, he struck her twice in the chest before kicking her. After she recovered, Laura Lee threw a punch which landed Beasley prone on the ground. Then, grabbing him by the heels, she repeatedly threw him against a pillar on the porch before letting him go. When he didn't move, she accused him of playing dead and then picked him up and threw him over the fence and into the street. When it was over, Laura Lee said she felt proud of herself for protecting Mrs. Clairborne's property. Even so, she couldn't help feeling that if Tom were alive, he would have disapproved of her actions and told her that once again, she had taken on more than she could handle; for the first time in her life, she wondered if he was right. Noting that she has not received a reply to the letter she wrote to Mrs. Clairborne describing the trouble she is in, Laura Lee tells the jury that her steadfast loyalty comes from the fact that Mrs. Clairborne had been "given" to her when she was five years old.

With this statement, the prosecutor interrupts, telling the judge that Laura Lee has been given the chance to tell her side of the story and should not be allowed to continue. The judge denies this request and reminds the prosecutor that because Laura Lee is unlearned, she needs to be permitted to tell the story in her own way.

The judge tells Laura Lee to continue with her story, and so she tells the jury about how, when Mrs. Clairborne had been born, she had been placed under Laura Lee's care. This was customary during that period, and although the baby, who was named Celestine Beaufort, remained at home with her parents, she and Laura Lee shared a special bond. When Laura Lee was sixteen, her father died and Tom came to take over his job. Soon enough, she and Tom began courting, even though there was another young man who wanted to marry her. Laura Lee said that she decided against marrying the other man, because he wanted to move far away, and neither her mother nor Celestine wanted her to go. Although Laura Lee saw this as her chance to free herself from Celestine, she could not bear to leave, and so she eventually decided to marry Tom. This decision made Celestine and her family so happy that Celestine's father built a home for the couple on their property and gave them lifetime rights to it. Eventually Celestine married as well; her husband was J. Stuart Clairborne, a young lawyer.

Soon after the wedding, Laura Lee's mother and Mrs. Beaufort both died, followed by General Beaufort. By this time, Mr. Clairborne's law practice was starting to flourish. The next five years passed happily enough, but then Mr. Clairborne became ill. Celestine spent a great deal of money sending him to doctors in the hope of making him well, but to no avail; he died four years later. In the months following Mr. Clairborne's death, Tom became restless and begged Laura Lee to agree to leave so they could find better paying work elsewhere. Refusing to leave her friend when she was needed most, Laura Lee had told her husband that she wouldn't leave. Shortly after, Celestine came to Laura Lee and told her that the house and property were becoming too difficult for her to maintain. She had found a buyer for her home and was planning to move to Jacksonville, Florida. She asked Laura Lee and Tom to join her but said she would understand if they didn't want to go. As a show of appreciation for all they had done, she offered them the cash value of their property if they chose not to go.

Laura Lee immediately knew that she wanted to go to Florida but told Celestine that she had to consult with her husband. Tom refused to entertain the idea of going and said that he was much too old to start over. He finally changed his mind when Celestine made a promise that if he should die first, she would make sure he was brought back to Savannah to be buried. Similarly, if she died first, Tom and Laura Lee were to do the same for her and would become heirs of her estate.

Laura Lee finishes her story by telling the jury that perhaps she was wrong for staying with Celestine all these years and taking responsibility for her affairs. She admits that she hurt Beasley, but says that it was justified and that she expects that under similar circumstances, each one of the jurors would have done the same thing. With her testimony concluded, Laura Lee returned to her seat.

The judge tells the court that he has obtained the record of Mrs. Clairborne's loan and points out that the due date on the note is more than three months away. Based on this, there was no reason for Beasley to have been on Mrs. Clairborne's property on the day in question. The judge admonishes Beasley for trying to use the court for his own gain when, in fact, he was the one who had committed the crime. He defends Laura Lee's actions by telling the court that she was only trying to protect the property with which she had been entrusted. Then, after providing the court with a short history of the human rights movement in the United States, the judge instructs the jury to rule in favor of the defendant.

When Laura Lee approaches the judge to offer her thanks, he tells her that he is the one who should be thanking her. She is somewhat confused and completely overwhelmed by the throngs of well-wishers who offer her a place to stay. Finally returning home, Laura Lee pauses for a moment before entering and tells herself that she is ashamed for ever having doubted Celestine. Then, before sitting down to eat, she takes out one of Celestine's finest silver platters and polishes it to a high sheen.