Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

After golf, Theo and his dad swing by the shelter to find Julio, Hector, and Rita to take them to a Stratten College baseball game. Woods stops by their mother’s workplace to tell her where they’re going before they leave.

At the game, Theo tells the kids that they must practice their English. Marcella soon shows up and takes them for ice cream before she, Woods, and Ike discuss what apartments they’ve found.

Theo gets Julio alone and learns that his cousin’s name is Bobby Escobar. He tells Julio that he’s protected Bobby’s identity but that he needs to come forward. He also mentions that they might be able to help him get immunity so that he won’t be arrested for being undocumented if he comes forward and that Julio’s mother should also try to convince Bobby to come forward. Julio agrees.

At home later that night, Theo receives a call from Julio, who tells him that Bobby is freaked out because police raided his neighborhood, the Quarry, and arrested two people for being undocumented. Bobby was not arrested because he wasn’t home. Theo stresses the urgency of Bobby coming forward, and Julio says that he’s still willing to meet with Theo, who suggests Truman Park at 9:30pm.

At the playground, Woods lingers off to the side while Theo meets with Julio and Bobby. He asks Bobby if he worked that day, since he and his dad played at the Waverly Creek golf course, and he replies that he spent the day avoiding cops. Using that as an opening, Theo lays out his family’s plan, noting that he could take steps toward becoming a documented citizen.

Bobby is unconvinced of the importance of testifying and becomes even more nervous when cops show up, even though Theo points out that he knows one of them and that one only writes parking tickets. After he learns that Bobby has no place to stay that night, he suggests a sleepover with the three of them, and they agree.

Marcella and Woods listen in on the boys as they play videogames, thinking about how they wanted more kids, but it hadn’t worked out, “[a]nd, at times, they had to admit that Theo was more than enough” (243).

Judge Gantry is out on a late-night walk, trying to wrestle with the complexity of the Duffy trial. He’s spent the weekend looking through law books trying to decide if he should declare a mistrial, even though nothing has gone amiss, and no ethics were violated. When he sees the lights on at Boone & Boone, he knocks on the door. Marcella answers and welcomes him inside the office.

The judge is being followed by a man in a jogging suit named Paco. After Gantry goes into the firm, Paco continues jogging until he gets to the corner. He calls Omar Cheepe, who picks him up and they park and watch the door to Boone & Boone. Cheepe recounts that he saw the family on Friday in the judge’s office and wonders why Theo wasn’t in school that day. Noticing that Gantry decided to wait the weekend to resume the trial, he suspects the Boones’ visit to the judge may have had something to do with it. Cheepe decides to call a van so they can get closer and takes pictures, as he suspects that nothing going on inside is good for Pete Duffy.

Judge Gantry joins the Boone family in the library. He reminds them that word of this meeting cannot get out because, while it is not illegal since none of them are directly involved in the case, he would get a lot of questions. They all agree.

Theo then runs through his experience with his father at the golf course, explaining Bobby’s lunch spot and how it provided a perfect view to the Duffy home and how his lunch time lined up with the timing of the murder. He also shows where Duffy threw out the gloves, bringing them out and putting them on the table. When the judge asks if Duffy put on another pair, Theo says he’s never asked him but that the judge can. Bobby is now represented by Boone & Boone. Marcella makes the judge promise not to arrest or prosecute him, to which Judge Gantry agrees.

Everyone then goes to speak with Bobby, and Theo walks him through his story just like a witness. They go through where he saw Pete Duffy leave from and return to the golf course. They also discuss identifying him, as Bobby has never met Pete Duffy before, though he remembers exactly what he was wearing. When Theo shows him a picture of Duffy in that outfit, he has no problem agreeing that that was the man he saw.

The narrative skips ahead to Monday morning, and Judge Gantry enters the courtroom looking exhausted. He then declares a mistrial, and everyone is shocked. Omar Cheepe looks briefly at Theo with a menacing glare. Theo watches as Judge Gantry explains to the jurors that they are excused, and he thinks about how he wants to be a judge.

The judge then tells the lawyers for both sides that they are to meet him in his office the next morning to explain why he made this decision. With the proceedings over for the morning, Woods tells his son to get to school.

Outside, Theo talks to Ike, saying that he’ll stop by like he does every Monday. He sees Omar Cheepe leave with Pete Duffy, and they make eye contact again. Cheepe looks like he’s considering coming over but doesn’t.

Theo can’t believe it’s Monday, as the past week has been so busy. He decides to spend some time with April, especially since her case with be decided the next day. He also wants to try to relax before he must help Bobby with preparation for the rescheduled trial in June.

When he arrives, he hands his note to the secretary in the office, but then she has him sit down, which is confusing. Then, she tells him about her brother who was pulled over for driving under the influence. He tells her that he’ll likely get a fine and have his license suspended for six months and then be off the hook. He writes down the name of a good attorney. She thanks him, and he heads off to class.