He wasn’t impressed by money.
And he certainly wasn’t impressed by powerful last names.
Throughout his career, he had sentenced wealthy business owners, politicians, and even public officials.
His reputation was simple.
Fair.
Firm.
Impossible to influence.
As he reviewed the case file in front of him, his expression remained calm.
The charges against Ava Mercer weren’t minor.
Multiple traffic violations.
Failure to appear.
Contempt warnings.
Disorderly conduct.
Resisting an officer.
And several incidents involving aggressive behavior toward public employees.
Each charge alone might not have seemed significant.
Together, they painted a troubling picture.
A pattern.
A history of believing consequences didn’t apply to her.
When the proceedings began, Ava’s attitude only made matters worse.
The prosecutor calmly presented the evidence.
Witness statements.
Police reports.
Video footage.
Official records.
The evidence was overwhelming.
But Ava didn’t seem concerned.
She smirked repeatedly.
She interrupted whenever she disagreed with something.
She laughed during testimony.
