The hours seem like eternity in the empty courtroom as my mother and I sit there. The Assistant County Attorney walks in and looks at my mom. He talks to us for a few minutes when a lady from the court comes over and with a sincere yet excited voice announces, “The verdict’s in.”

The judge enters the court with an authority that stuns me; he seems extremely agitated. Honestly, I think his lunch was interrupted. The judge tells the bailiff to bring back the jury. Those 12 people were chosen to decide the fate of the man sitting at the defendant’s table stroll into the room. It’s a job I never want. They sit, all eyes locked on the judge. The few seconds before the judge speaks are the longest I’ve ever experienced.

I look at my mother and see she is crying. This gets me choked up. The judge looks at the jury and asks, “Jury foreman, have you reached a verdict?”

The man rises and says, “Yes, we have, Your Honor.” The foreman is average-sized with glasses, and he looks like he really takes pride in their decision as a jury.

“Please hand the papers to the bailiff,” the judge says as though bored, but this was his demeanor throughout the trial.

After the judge gives the orders, the jury foreman and the bailiff meet at the end of the jury booth where he hands her the papers. She looks at them and hands them to the judge. The judge also looks and asks the jurors one simple and defining question, “Are all of these verdicts unanimous?”

To my surprise, the entire jury nods in unison. The judge looks back at the bailiff and hands her the decisions. “Bailiff, please read the verdicts,” he commands.

The bailiff looks straight at my mom and reads in a very professional voice, “We, the jury, find the defendant guilty on count one of non-support of a child.”

At this moment my tears start, but I hold them back as she repeats that verdict three more times. After all the years of being neglected by my father, my siblings and I are at last vindicated. The look on his face is complete shock; his arrogance told him he would be acquitted. Victory at last.

In a way, it’s an even bigger victory for my mom. During the whole trial, the defense attorney did nothing but drag my mom through the mud, trying to discredit her by making her look like the bad parent. So, really, this is her day, her victory.