"Yes."
"You wrote that."
"Yes."
"The driver in that earlier stop produced documents."
"Yes."
"You examined them."
"Yes."
"You verified them."
"Yes."
"You released them."
"Yes."
"White couple?"
Vale rose.
"Objection."
Langford considered.
"Overruled."
Callahan answered:
"Yes."
Quentin nodded.
"Judge Vaughn produced registration."
"Yes."
"Matching her name."
"Yes."
"You saw her federal judicial credential."
"Yes."
"You did not examine a title."
"She didn't have one in the vehicle."
"Did you ask if she had electronic proof?"
"No."
"Call the dealership?"
"No."
"Request supervisor verification before handcuffing her?"
"No."
"Contact GCIC about the known discrepancy?"
"No."
"Tell her you had encountered the same flag before?"
"No."
"Why?"
Callahan's expression hardened.
"Because every stop is different."
"Correct."
Quentin walked toward the evidence screen.
"This one was different."
He displayed the white-couple outcome again.
"Very different."
Callahan's lawyer objected.
The judge allowed the comparison within limits.
Quentin moved to the email.
"After the earlier stop, you wrote your supervisor that the flagged VIN was 'back in rotation.'"
"Yes."
"You knew it might appear again."
"Yes."
"You recommended correction."
"Yes."
"You followed up?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Not my responsibility."
Quentin paused.
"But arresting Judge Vaughn was?"
Callahan shifted.
"My responsibility was responding to the alert."
Quentin did not react.
Instead, he displayed Bryce's journal entry.
Callahan's face changed.
Quentin read only the relevant line.
"Some people need to be reminded that their credentials don't mean what they think they mean."
Callahan stared at the screen.
"Did you say that?"
"I don't remember."
"You deny it?"
"I said I don't remember."
"Did Officer Delaney invent it?"
"I can't speak to what he wrote."
"He wrote it that night."
Callahan did not answer.
Quentin stood near the jury.
"Officer, when you looked at Judge Vaughn's credential, what did you think it meant?"
"It meant she identified herself as a federal judge."
"Did you believe her?"
"I had no reason to believe the credential was fake."
"So you believed she was a federal judge."
"Yes."
"And nevertheless concluded she might have stolen the car she had registered in her name."
"I followed the alert."
Quentin looked at him.
"The alert you already knew could be wrong."
Vale objected.
Langford sustained.
Quentin nodded.