Judge Whitestone tapped his gavel repeatedly, as the crowd buzzed excitedly over what had just happened.
"Order in this court!" he demanded. "I will have order in this court!"
The noise died down and the judge continued.
"Due to the events we all just witnessed, I am calling a recess of one hour for lunch. Lady Bailiff, escort the defendant to the ladies' room and get her cleaned up and dressed. I want her wearing clothes when she gets back! And get someone in here to clean this mess up! Court is adjourned until 11:15!"
With that, he slammed his gavel authoritatively on his desk.
"All rise!"
The court arose as the judge exited the courtroom for his chambers. I watched as Lauren was escorted out by the female bailiff, who paused to grab her clothes from the judge's bench.
"Holy shit!" Chief Polanko exclaimed. "In all my years as a cop, attending court cases, I have never seen anything like that before, except in my airport."
"Do you think it helped or hurt her case?" I inquired.
"Well, I saw him jerking off behind the bench." the chief remarked.
"Me too." I added. "I don't think anyone else did though."
"Probably not." the chief observed. "They were all too busy watching your wife and wishing they were jerking off too! Speaking of your wife, let's go find her. Oh by the way, thanks for letting her gum me. It was incredible."
"I know. One reason I love her so much." I said with a smile.
"Lucky bastard."
We found Lauren standing in the hallway, swamped by radio, TV and newspaper reporters. Multiple mics were shoved in her face as she tried to answer the barrage of questions being fired at her like a battery of rockets.
"What was it like being nude in front of all of those people?"
"How many orgasms did you have?"
"Have you ever had sex in public?"
"Is it true you performed oral sex on all the male guests at your wedding reception?"
"Have you ever had sex with animals?"
Lauren looked at me and smiled.
"Just my husband." she cooed. "He's a total animal when he's with me."
"That's enough for now." I intervened, as I put my arm around my wife's waist and escorted her down the hall. "She'll give a full press release after the trial is over."
"We want to hear from you too, Jack!" a loud female voice bellowed. "We want to hear your thoughts on all of this!"
An hour later the court had reconvened, and now it was time for Lauren to testify on her own behalf. She looked absolutely beautiful in her business attire, as she sat with all the poise of a professional model. Chris approached her with his own line of questioning.
"Lauren, would you please tell me why you enjoy being nude so much?"
"Well, like I said before," she began, "I feel so free; so natural without any clothes on. I feel just as uncomfortable here wearing clothes as you would if you were naked. I hope that makes sense."
"Yes, it makes perfect sense." Chris replied. "Do you think that being nude is a privilege or a right, like say, wearing certain clothes?"
"Why yes." Lauren responded. "It's just as wrong to force someone to wear clothes as it would be to force them to be nude. People have the right to marry people of the same sex, or to change their gender identity."
She looked around the court before continuing.
"So why can't I have the right to be nude? Why should I be forced to wear clothes? I was born into this world as naked as a jaybird. If God had intended for me to wear clothes, I would have been born wearing pajamas."
A few lighthearted laughs could be heard, and the judge tapped his gavel lightly. Lauren continued:
"Being nude is a form of expression. Why isn't it covered under the First Amendment? Why should I be forced to wear clothes if I don't want to? I have the right to free speech. I have the right to express my views. Body art is free speech. My entire body should be considered free speech if I wish to express it."
"Here, here!" a voice called out.
Judge Whitestone tapped his gavel in response.
"Do that again and you're outta here! Continue, Ms. Newell."
"Your Honor, I have checked extensively, and there are no federal laws regarding public nudity." Lauren continued. "Those backwards and Draconian laws fall to the individual states and local municipalities for passage. It's legal to be nude on public lands, national forests and even some national parks that don't expressly forbid it themselves.
"The Founding Fathers specifically left this open because I feel they considered it part of the First Amendment as free speech. It's just that at the time, had they specifically included it, it would have met with backlash, so they left it as a gray area. It's time that people such as myself had the right to come out of the shadows - that gray area - and be allowed to function as freely and openly as a homosexual or lesbian or whatever, without fear of prosecution or reprisal.
"If I get up in the morning and decide to put on a pair of shorts and no top and go to the park, that is legal because this is a top-free state. But if I don't to put the shorts on it's illegal. That makes no sense whatsoever. The human body is not gross; it is beautiful. It is like a work of art, and like a work of art, our bodies were meant to be seen. I know that people will say there are those who you would never want to see nude, but we still see them oozing out of their shorts and tank tops during the summer and it's just as bad."
Her last remark elicited a few more giggles, but she continued.
"I feel that I did not break the law by being nude in the parking deck, as it was still on federal property. It also was not my intention to have an orgasm in the airport any more than I intended to have one in this courtroom here today. Because of this, I ask you to find me not guilty. I also ask that you consider my analysis of the law regarding nudity as well, and take the opportunity to rule in a manner that will set precedent for further interpretation of the law."
I'll have to admit, I was extremely impressed with my wife's knowledge of the law and ability to convey her opinions in such an articulate manner.
"Your Honor, I have made my case." Lauren declared. "It is my fervent hope that you will take all my words and actions into account when making your decision, and I throw myself upon the mercy of this court. That is all."
"Thank you, Ms. Newell." Judge Whitestone responded. "I take it then, that you do not wish for closing statements to be made?"
"No Sir, I just made them."
"Very well then. I will retreat to my chambers to review this case and all of the evidence. I will return when I have made my decision, to make a ruling regarding this case. This court is in recess."
"All rise!"
The judge left the courtroom, and several people stood up and left as well, most likely to make a report or use the restroom. Lauren returned and Ii stood to greet her.
"Great job, Babe!" I said enthusiastically. "You were terrific!"
"Thank you, Sir." she replied. "I took two years of Constitutional law at Pepperdine before I dropped out and transferred to Rutgers for a business major."
"Why am I not surprised?" I mused aloud. "One of these days, you and I are going to have to sit down and fill each other in on everything, okay?"
"Okay, Sir." Lauren said with a smile.
I noticed Cassandra approaching us, and she headed straight for Chris.
"Not bad, Honey." she greeted him as she planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, Shugs." he replied. "I love the way you got her to explode in front of everyone. Very clever."
"So was getting the judge to allow her to strip, and testify nude." Cassandra laughed. "I'd hate to go against you in a real case!"
"Am I missing something?" I inquired.
"Jack, this is my wife, Cassandra." Chris explained.
"I think I'm beginning to understand." I responded. "This whole thing was staged, wasn't it? You two were in on this together."
"Of course not!" Cassandra exclaimed indignantly. "That would be illegal!"
She and Chris suddenly burst out laughing.
"Excuse me." Lauren interjected. "Does this mean my heartfelt recitation was all for nothing? I really practiced that."
"Not at all." Chris replied. "From what I understand, there are a few lawsuits filed that Judge Whitestone is slated to preside over, regarding public nudity. As you opined, he may be able to use this case to set a precedent, but don't get too hopeful."
"Between you, me and the fence post, what are the chances the judge is going to rule positively for my wife?" I inquired.