"The Honorable Owen Otis O'Brien, chief superior court judge of Randleman County, was buried with his black judicial robe today. He had been blown to pieces when his canary yellow Lincoln Town Car exploded on the second day of our trial. The vanity license plate – “Judge O” -- survived the blast.

"Upon learning of our judge's demise, my client and I laughed out loud in the courtroom. The stenographer turned and stared. So did the clerk, deputies, jurors, Lumbee Defense Committee members, and journalists scribbling quotes for the Randleman Journal and the Fayetteville Times. Luckily TV cameras were banned from the courtroom.
Cops wouldn't know sarcasm if it bit them on the ass. Stupid as it was, I couldn't stop myself. That laugh may have contributed to my being charged with capital murder at 5:47 p.m. today, two days after my courtroom outburst and hours after the judge's funeral.

"Everyone calls me Star. I'm short (more than attractive enough for government work according to my ex-husband), with razor cut black hair. That day in court I wore a tan Halston jacket, short skirt and medium heels.
My tall, but not too tall, leathery faced, green-eyed, maroon-haired Lumbee Indian client, Jimmy Ray Oxendine, stood next to me. He wore the navy-blue K-Mart polyester suit I paid for. They call Jimmy Ray, the vigilante cop car bomber, the Billy Jack of Randleman. He was on trial for blowing up a deputy's car to avenge the killing of a Lumbee boy by the cops."