Bernie Feldman

Bernie Feldman is a character in the Dexter Novels.

He is Dexter Morgan's court-appointed attorney after he’s arrested for the murder of Rita, Jackie Forrest, and Robert Chase. (In truth, Robert killed Rita and Jackie, and Astor killed Robert.)

Description
Bernie is an overworked public defender who wears a “very cheap-looking dark gray suit. He is thirty-ish, balding, bespectacled, and he looks weary, harried, and hassled beyond measure.”

Summary

 * Dexter Is Dead

Dexter is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, a “huge, concrete, barbed wire-bedecked building.” It's not a prison, but temporary housing for dangerous arrestees. Dexter's cell is on the ninth floor.

Dexter’s life becomes a dull routine. Each morning, he’s awakened at 4:30 a.m. by a bell, after which a breakfast tray with cereal, toast, coffee,and juice is slid through a slot in the door. Lunch is a meat or cheese sandwich, lemonade, an apple, and cookie that is delivered at 10:30 a.m. Dexter is allowed an hour of solitary exercise in the yard under the watchful eyes of Lazlo, a guard. There are no trees or grass; it’s just a wedge-shaped concrete floor with a netless basketball hoop. Dinner is always at five and lights out at ten. Dexter spends his time pacing his cell, doing push-ups and tai chi, though it’s difficult in the limited space.

Days slowly pass and no one visits him, not even Deborah. Dexter holds on to the hope that he will be set free, but faces the fact that he appears to be guilty. His story is big in the media and the police want someone convicted for the murders.

After two and a half weeks, Lazlo tells Dexter that his lawyer is here. He takes Dexter to sit in front of a bulletproof window. Bernie is frowning and looking through a stack of papers. He and Dexter communicate through old-fashioned phones. Bernie assures Dexter that his arraignment will be held within 48 hours of his arrest. When Dexter says that he’s been there for two and a half weeks, Bernie looks through his papers again, appearing confused. He asks Dexter if he’s had a psych evaluation because he killed all those people and is a pedophile. Dexter states that he’s innocent, but Bernie waves him off. While they talk, Bernie keeps dropping his phone, making crashing noises in Dexter’s ear. Suddenly, while looking through the papers, Bernie exclaims, “Shit, this changes everything!” He gathers his papers, tells Dexter that he’ll be back, and abruptly leaves.

The next day, Lazlo takes Dexter to meet with Detective Anderson. He hates Dexter and makes it clear that he will do whatever it takes to get him convicted. Dexter is certain that Anderson is meddling with the evidence.

Two days after this, Deborah finally pays Dexter a visit, but she’s not there to help him. Instead, she wants him to sign over custody of his kids to her. Dexter is taken aback when Deb tells him that he was never really her brother, and he deserves to be incarcerated.

Dexter is left in a quandary. He has a nearly useless lawyer and Deborah has abandoned him. He considers reaching out to Vince Masuoka, the only person he thinks of as a friend.

After a couple of more days, Dexter is pleasantly surprised to learn that Bernie has been replaced by Frank Kraunauer, a famous, high-priced attorney. Frank, hired by Dexter’s brother, Brian, arranges for Dexter to be released, pending his trial.

Related Pages

 * Brian Moser
 * Jackie Forrest
 * Robert Chase