I shuffled along behind a guy in a uniform with a fancy crest on his shoulders that said “Court Officer”. As we moved down the non-descript grey hallway, Chief's tall minion who’s name I still didn’t know was following behind my shackled form. 

“So, this is it. I can’t help you once you the court takes custody of you. Sign the paper and I can get you out of here.”-Tall guy 

I rolled my eyes as the sound of my shackles bounced off the walls. 

-Like I haven't heard every variation of this pitch from both you and Chief over the last three days. 

I frowned as I wasn’t quite sure if it was two or three days. I had forgotten how disorientating being stuck inside under artificial light without any way to tell time could be. 

-I should be happy that they are civilized enough that I haven't had any accidents falling downstairs or tripping in a shower. Not that they have let me have a shower yet. 

The hall opened into a small vestibule with a small glass covered counter and a couple of metal chairs, all in the same grey colour as the hall. The court officer led me over to the counter, sliding some papers under the glass to a woman in the same uniform. Tall guy put the pad of paper with the scrawled writing down on the counter and tapped it with his finger. The woman behind the glass scowled at him as she put a new sheet of printed paper beside it. 

“Sign by the X and you remand Mr. Callows to the Court's custody.”-Female officer 

“Last chance. Once you're through those doors you're looking at a long sentence. Longer if that kid you slapped around doesn't wake up.”-Tall guy 

I looked at the woman behind the glass, who was now scowling towards me. 

“Oh nice. Very subtle making these guys think that Chuck was underage and not the hot-headed idiot that attacked me first.”-Me 

The Tall guy’s smile turned to a frown as his eye flicked back and forth to the other two officers. The woman behind the glass must have noticed because she pushed her piece of paper towards the tall guy again. 

“Are you going to sign or are you taking him back?”-Female officer 

Tall guy angrily picked up the pen and ripped off his signature across the bottom of the page. I looked down at the signature and nodded, then looked at tall guy with a big grin. 

“I was wondering who wrote that supposed confession. Guess Chief just told you what he wanted and left you to the creative writing. You should work on your penmanship.”-Me 

The Tall guy’s eyes flicked to the others again, then settled back on me. He was clearly mad now. 

“Good luck, homeless piece of shit.”-Tall guy  

Several hours later I was shuffled out of a holding cell, into a court room, and lead to a table where a sharp dressed woman was flipping through a file that a robed woman had just handed her. The Judge and the man I assume was the prosecutor were doing the same.  

The woman looked up from the paper and frowned when she saw that I was still in shackles. She looked up at the officer at my side. 

“You can take those off now.”-Sharp dressed woman 

The large officer at my side shrugged. 

“Sorry I can’t. The arresting officer flagged him as violent.”-Large court officer 

She rolled her eyes and looked at me.  

“I’m Sarah Flints, your court appoint representative for your arraignment. You understand that if you get violent here you lose any chance of getting parole and you will remain in jail till your court date?”-Sarah Flints 

“I have no intention of any violence.”-Me 

I nodded to her as I spoke. She looked at me for a moment, then turned back to the officer. 

“You can take them off. You can stay right here if you're worried about it.”-Sarah Flint 

She turned back to the papers to start reading through them again. The large officer cleared his throat and coughed causing her to look up. 

“Again, I’m Sorry but I can’t take them off. The transfer officer left before the cuffs could be exchanged.”-Large officer 

She looked at him with a disbelieving look then turned to towards the front bench. 

“Excuse me your honor.”-Sarah Flints 

The judge looked up over the papers he was reading and the prominent name plaque on the desk. 

“Yes Mrs. Flints?”-Judge Lee 

“I know that we are not in session yet, but the court officer has just informed me that they can’t remove the shackles from my client.”-Sarah Flints 

The Judge looked at me then over to the large officer next to me. 

“Officer Hays?”-Judge Lee 

“He was flagged as violent.”-Officer Hays 

The judge frowned and looked down at the paperwork. 

“I didn’t see anything about resisting arrest. Mrs. Flint, do you believe your client constitutes a risk?”-Judge Lee 

“I explained to Mr. Callows the consequences of any violent actions here, and he stated that he had no violent intentions.”-Sarah Flint 

“Mr. Callows?”-Judge Lee 

I looked at Mrs. Flints till she nodded. 

“I understand the consequences and will not be instigating any violence.”-Me 

The judge nodded and waved towards officer Hays. Before Hays could say anything more the prosecutor spoke up. 

“Your Honor, if I could interject. Although Mr. Callow has not been charged with resisting arrest, he has been charged with assault with intent, aggravated assault, and assault with a weapon. He sent three people to the hospital, one a minor that required emergency surgery.”-Prosecutor 

As I was wondering if this is how they were going to “legally” lock me up by pinning everything on me, Mrs. Flints spoke out again. 

“Your Honor! The prosecutor is already making misleading statements leading to bias against my client. All charges are alleged, which the prosecutor knows full well. Any statements otherwise are prejudicial, as is my client remaining in a set of full restraints without having shown violent reaction to any authority.”-Mrs. Flint 

The prosecutor was about to speak when Judge Lee put up his hand to stop. 

“Enough councillors. We're not even in session yet. Mr. Laurence, this is just an arraignment, and I shouldn’t have to point out that your comment could be taken as slanderous. I’ve talked to Mr. Callows, he is aware of the consequences of any violent actions. Mr. Hays, please remove the restraints.”-Judge Lee 

-Hah! I got to admit, this farce is a good one. Better than Chief and his flunky. It’s nice to see professionals at work. Now que the “oh so regrettable” reason why they can’t remove the chains. 

As I was retorting in my head, officer Hays clear his throat again. 

“Ah, sorry your Honor, but the transfer officer forgot to swap out the restraints. We have a call into his station, but they say they can't reach him and it’s a 2-hour drive”-Officer Hays 

The judge frowned. 

“Ok Mrs. Flints, I’ll make allowance for prejudice since they can’t be removed. Sorry Mr. Callows looks like you have suffer them for a couple of hours.”-Judge Lee 

The judge turned back to his papers having dismissed the matter. I just rolled my eyes and muttered to myself. 

“What's a few more hours after 4 days?”-Me 

Mrs. Flints was also picking up her papers when paused and looked back at me. 

“How long have you been in those restraints?”-Mrs. Flints 

She motioned me to sit down, as she also sat. I took the chair farthest from her. She looked perplexed by my seating choice. 

-So, I guess this is part where she acts like she’s on my side. 

“I’ve been in cuffs since I was arrested. They put these on after the first interrogation 3 or 4 days ago.”-Me 

She frowned and flipped through the papers on her desk. She spoke up after a moment as she was noting something on a pad of paper. 

“Who was the arresting officer?”-Mrs. Flints 

“Chief.”-Me 

“No, not his rank, his name.”-Mrs. Flints 

She frowned as flipped back through the pages.  

-Not sure where this is going. Must be the “I’m on your side” hook. 

“That is his name, or at least that’s what everyone calls him.”-Me 

She looked up at me for a moment with a probing look, then looked down at the two empty chairs between us. 

“Why did you sit over there?”-Mrs. Flints 

I shrugged making the shackles clink. 

“I'm sure I don’t smell the best after four days without a shower.”-Me 

-Guess you can’t complain that the prisoner stinks if I don’t get close. 

She shook her head then checked the papers again and writing more notes. 

“Hey Hays, you guys didn’t have him change out of oranges before court?”-Mrs. Flints 

“No. He was dropped off as is. You can't change cloths with a full set of restraints on.”-Officer Hays 

Mrs. Flints nodded and made a few more notes. She didn’t look up as she asked me a few more questions about how I was arrested and who else was there. 

After about 15mins the Judge finished signing his paperwork and looked over at one of the robed people by his desk. 

“Cindy, let's get this started please.”-Judge Lee 

The woman nodded and finished up what she was doing and turned toward us. 

“Councilors, are you ready?”-Robed woman 

Both Mrs. Flints and the prosecutor stood up and gave their agreement. The robed woman nodded and grabbed a paper off her desk and read it out to the room. 

“All rise. This court stands open for the arraignment of Mr. Callows on the following charges. Assault with intent, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and issuance of a threat. Presiding Judge, his Honor, Malcom Lee.”-Robed woman 

The robed woman sat back down at her small desk as Judge Lee looked across his desk at me. 

“Mr. Callows, do you understand these charges laid against you?”-Judge Lee 

-Damn this is some expensive theater. Paying all of these people to play their roles just to send whoever the guard collars to jail for the rest of their life. 

I nodded 

“Yes.”-Me 

“Ok. Prosecutor what are you asking for?”-Judge Lee 

The prosecutor picked up a piece of paper, briefly looking at it before speaking. 

“Given the charges, the number of people with life threatening wounds, and the defendants prior history the prosecution asks that Mr. Callows be remanded to McLure Regional Penitentiary to be held un-till his court date which is to be determined at a future date.”-Prosecutor  

-And I'm just supposed to ignore the fact that no time limit was specified for that court date? 

“Councilor for the defence?”-Judge Lee 

“Yes, your Honor. Before I talk on bail, I like to comment on the validity of the charges.”-Mrs. Flints 

Judge Lee frowned a bit at Mrs. Flint’s statement. 

“Is this beyond the mater of the restraints?”-Judge Lee 

“Yes, and also expanding on the restraints outside of prejudice.”-Mrs. Flints 

The judge shrugged. 

“Ok councillor, you may speak too merit.”-Judge Lee 

Mrs. Flint smiled and consulted her note pad. 

“My first point is that the arresting officer did not properly identify himself and is still known only as “Chief” to my client. My second point is that my client has been held been in custody for over 100 hours, far exceeding the required 24 to be presented to this court. The third point is treatment during those hours were as my client has been in full restraint the majority of that time and refused basic access to standard accommodation. Fourth is...”-Mrs. Flint 

The judge interrupted Mrs. Flint, holding up his hand. 

“Hold there for a second councillor. I assume you have a few more points so just hand them to the Bailiff, and I’ll get the Prosecutor's input on them.”-Judge Lee 

The robbed woman moved over from her seat and picked up the list form Mrs. Flint and passed it to the Judge. The Judge read it for a bit, then opened what I assumed was the original case file and flipped through a few pages. He looked up and paused tapping his pen on the desk before speaking again. 

“Well first off, Mr. Callows please stand.”-Judge Lee 

I stood up with the clinking of the shackles. 

“I’m going to swear you into the court, would you prefer to swear on a holy text or by oath?”-Judge Lee 

The prosecutor rose again. 

“Your Honor. This is just an arraignment not a trial.”-Prosecutor 

The judge looked at him.  

“A fact I’m well aware of councillor. Mr. Callows?”-Judge Lee 

“I prefer by oath.”-Me 

The Baillif came forward and had me raise my right hand as high as I could and swear to tell the truth without reservation or omission. The judge looked at me again. 

“Mr. Callows. It is your assertion that the arresting officer did not identify himself at the time of your arrest.”-Judge Lee 

I nodded. 

“Yes.”-Me 

“Mr. Callows. It is also your assertion that you have been in this set of restraints since you were interrogated on the first day.”-Judge Lee 

“No.”-Me 

The judge looked down at the note from Mrs. Flints and back up to me. 

“Is there something wrong with what you stated to your councillor?”-Judge Lee 

“Yes, as there was no clock in the room they held me in, and it was fairly late when I was arrested. I can’t swear that it was defiantly still the first day when the Chief ordered the tall guy to put me in restraints before I could use the bathroom.”-Me 

Mrs. Flints spoke up. 

“The case file states that Mr. Callow was first interrogated beginning at 11pm, 4hours after being arrested. That would put it in the first day.”-Mrs. Flints  

The Judge noted something on his desk. 

“Thank you, Mr. Callows. You can sit down.”-Judge Lee 

He turned back to the prosecutor. 

“First why has it taken so long to get Mr. Callows to this arraignment?”-Judge Flints 

The prosecutor looked through his papers then stood up and spoke. 

“It appears that the detachment has a shortage of officers available and provided transport as soon as someone came available.”-Prosecutor 

 “And why didn’t they use the Sheriff service?”-Judge Lee 

The prosecutor looked apologetic with a smile. 

“Sorry I can't speak to that.”-Prosecutor 

The judge noted something down again. 

“As to Mrs. Flints first point, and too her fourth point. This case file only has the charge sheet and the statements from three of the alleged victims. The arresting officers case notes are not here, nor are the case notes from the other officers on site, the statement from the last two victims, or any of the other witnesses referenced in charge sheet.”-Judge Lee 

The prosecutor put on a smile and responded right away. 

“Because of the number of witnesses, the detachment is backlogged, and corroborating reports are still in progress.”- Prosecutor 

The judge looked at him for a minute then spoke. 

“So, you're telling me that the initial case notes from all four officers, including the arresting officer, have not been completed in the four plus days since the arrest?”-Judge Lee 

The prosecutor’s smile was looking a bit worn before he nodded.  

“The detachment just needs a few more days to process all the statements and forward them to the court.”-Prosecutor 

The Judge shook his head and jotted down another note. When he was done, he looked back up towards the prosecutor. 

“So, the detachment is so busy writing their case reports, which they have not been able to complete in the last 4 days. Nor could they find an officer, or pick up a phone to call a sheriff, in time to transport the defendant to the court, for his arraignment in the required 24 hours?”-Judge Lee 

The Prosecutor’s smile slipped even more before he continued, but he lifted the file on his desk and spoke. 

“We have the initial report which indicates sufficient grounds to file charges. As for the delay, which is regrettable, just goes to show how diligently the detachment is being in their investigation.”-Prosecutor 

“Your honor. Sufficient grounds? Based on statements from biased parties made to an arresting officer that did not identify himself, and who has repeatedly violated my client's legal rights?”-Mrs. Flints 

The Judge but up his hand to forestall Mrs. Flints from continuing. He looked back at the Prosecutor. 

“Do you have anything else to say?”-Judge Lee 

The prosecutor nodded. 

“Yes, Your honor. Given Mr. Callows itinerant status, his legal history, and the size of the case we ask that you grant a continuance so that all the case reports can be collected and filled with the court.”-Prosecutor 

“Your Honor...”-Mrs. Flints 

The judge interrupted Mrs. Flints before she could really start by holding up his hand. 

“I’m aware of the length of time.”-Judge Lee 

The judge looked down at the papers on his desk, flipped through the file, and the notes that Mrs. Flints had made. After about 5 minutes of his own note taking, he looked up and addressed everyone. 

“OK. Given the severity of the charges, and Mr. Callows history, I'm going to give the prosecution the continuance. In light of Mr. Callows description of his time at the detachment I'm remanding Mr. Callows to McLure Regional as a minimum-security hold. Prosecutor, you have a week from today.”-Judge Lee 

The judge picked up the note that Mrs. Flints had written and waved it for emphasis. 

“Get a proper statement from the defendant, Prosecutor.  If even one of these claims is true, I’m going to be dismissing this case and recommending charges be filed against your office and the detachment.”-Judge Lee 

He handed the paper to the Bailiff with a quick word to have it filed and sent to the prosecutor. He then turned to officer Hays. 

“Cut him out of the shackles. Oh, and if the transfer officer ever shows up, hand him the pieces.”-Judge Lee 

KurtHudson

When I started writing this chapter it just felt dry. Did some research, re wrote, and it ended up long boring and Sahara like. So the final draft is a heavily simplified version of an actual court proceeding. I think I hit all the actual legal consequences of the actions that I wrote into the story previously, but I`m not a Lawyer.

I wanted this to be a kind of turning point for the MC. A "I'm not in the other world anymore" ironic reverse to the "I'm not in Kansas anymore!" cliche.