Defense files: silence as evidence

Spent the evening organizing notes from a case I lost six months ago—not to relitigate it, but because I needed to see the shape again. What struck me wasn't the verdict or the testimony. It was the gaps. The phone logs that were 'unavailable,' the interview room tape nobody requested. We build narratives from absence and call it procedure. I filed the whole mess under 'exhibit A' and walked to the window. Empty courtrooms sound exactly like this room does now.