I just got back from court...
...and this time it was not I who was on trial! I had no clue what I would be watching when I went to the courthouse. I had no plan and didn't expect anything more than traffic court or maybe something juicy like divorce court.
But as I was walking into the courthouse and going through security, the two people in front of me stuck their ID's in the basket that goes through the x-ray thingie. I noticed that they were both from Court TV so I figured that they were there on an interesting case. I asked the guy in front of me what case he was here to cover and he said, "The Smith case...6th floor, Courtroom B." So, being the nosey wench that I am, I followed them up to the Smith case. It wasn't Anna Nicole, of course, but it was a case that's been in the local news a lot lately. I don't know how much national attention it's gotten, but locally it's a biggie.
A married couple has been charged with numerous counts of murder, malice murder and felony murder, in relation to their 8 year old son's death. They say that they have been following the teachings of their church, but I saw a drawing of a child that had numerous healing, old and fresh injuries. Also, there was a small wicker basket that they allegedly put the kid in...I say small because of the size of an 8 year old...that thing was barely 2X3 feet high and wide. The couple's attorney was trying to get lesser included charges in front of the jury for them to consider instead of murder. I'll find out tomorrow whether or not they were successful with that motion.
Today they finished the case and in the morning they'll have closing arguments. I made eye contact with the husband and at one point I thought that he may have smiled at me. I looked over again and he put any doubt that I might have had to rest. He smiled at me so with a grin so big that you'd never have known he was on trial for his life. I was surprised that during a recess, the couple got up and walked out into the lobby. I guess they're out on bond now. I considered going up to the husband and speaking to him since he seemed so very receptive to me but I didn't think that I'd have time away from his attorney so I wrote my name and phone number down on a piece of paper and put "after 9 PM" so that I would know it was him. Then, I walked up and shook his hand, placing the note in his hand as I did it. We'll see if he calls me. One way or another, I'm going back in the morning to listen to the closing arguments. So, I'll have more to tell you then.
I've been thinking lately of wanting to go serve a one week prison sentence, just so that I can blog about it. What do you think?
Well, you were right in part of your comment, it isn't any worse than the divorce. But, since exactly one year ago tomorrow I was arrested for a probation violation and I spent 10 days in jail, I can tell you this...it's pretty damned boring. I was in the county lock-up and from what the regulars told me, that's the worst place to be. The ladies who were there waiting to be sentenced were looking forward to going to prison because they had things to do once they get there. I wouldn't mind doing a week in prison myself, just to write about it but the county lock-up is one boring place to be. I was amazed at how nice the other chicks in there were. No one bothered me, I have a personality that says I am not one to be messed with. Besides that, I was older than most of the people there so they had THAT respect going on. I tried to look at the whole thing as a sociologic survey, but I never knew when I'd be getting out so that had me a tad freaked.
I'd say the worst part was the incredible boredom. That, the guards and the food were both pretty bad as well. The guards were mean for no apparent reason and the food was so disgusting that I couldn't tell you what most of it was. Every night they had some sort of meat by-product covered with some sort of congealed gel subsatnce. One night they would call it Country Fried Steak and the next night they'd call it Fried Chicken. They always has a salad but it was wilted from the heat of the "meal". At breakfast they gave you a tray with a HUGE pile of cereal in it and one pint of milk. There was also some sort of sweet bread and a bag with 4 slices of bread and a few slices of bologna in it. That was supposed to last you until dinner. It was nasty, I must say.
The books that they had there were stupid books, I only found two worth reading and I read them both. I made a friend who I remain in contact with, she's a charming, funny young lady who will someday be an attorney, I have faith in that. That reminds me, I should go through my books and see what I have to take over to the jail, I meant to do that last year and never did. Of course, for all I know, you can't do that but I'll call tomorrow and find out. Hell, I may just GO and ask...I'll be right there. If you'd like to learn more about my experience, go read last February's blog entries...I spoke quite a bit about it at the time.
So, tune in tomorrow, I'll have more to say about the Smith trial. Now I'm going to see if I can find a link to a local news story so that you can see more of what I'm talking about if you'd like. BRB with that link.
OK, I found one:
http://www.courttv.com/trials/smith/020607_background_ctv.html
Meg
...and this time it was not I who was on trial! I had no clue what I would be watching when I went to the courthouse. I had no plan and didn't expect anything more than traffic court or maybe something juicy like divorce court.
But as I was walking into the courthouse and going through security, the two people in front of me stuck their ID's in the basket that goes through the x-ray thingie. I noticed that they were both from Court TV so I figured that they were there on an interesting case. I asked the guy in front of me what case he was here to cover and he said, "The Smith case...6th floor, Courtroom B." So, being the nosey wench that I am, I followed them up to the Smith case. It wasn't Anna Nicole, of course, but it was a case that's been in the local news a lot lately. I don't know how much national attention it's gotten, but locally it's a biggie.
A married couple has been charged with numerous counts of murder, malice murder and felony murder, in relation to their 8 year old son's death. They say that they have been following the teachings of their church, but I saw a drawing of a child that had numerous healing, old and fresh injuries. Also, there was a small wicker basket that they allegedly put the kid in...I say small because of the size of an 8 year old...that thing was barely 2X3 feet high and wide. The couple's attorney was trying to get lesser included charges in front of the jury for them to consider instead of murder. I'll find out tomorrow whether or not they were successful with that motion.
Today they finished the case and in the morning they'll have closing arguments. I made eye contact with the husband and at one point I thought that he may have smiled at me. I looked over again and he put any doubt that I might have had to rest. He smiled at me so with a grin so big that you'd never have known he was on trial for his life. I was surprised that during a recess, the couple got up and walked out into the lobby. I guess they're out on bond now. I considered going up to the husband and speaking to him since he seemed so very receptive to me but I didn't think that I'd have time away from his attorney so I wrote my name and phone number down on a piece of paper and put "after 9 PM" so that I would know it was him. Then, I walked up and shook his hand, placing the note in his hand as I did it. We'll see if he calls me. One way or another, I'm going back in the morning to listen to the closing arguments. So, I'll have more to tell you then.
I've been thinking lately of wanting to go serve a one week prison sentence, just so that I can blog about it. What do you think?
Well, you were right in part of your comment, it isn't any worse than the divorce. But, since exactly one year ago tomorrow I was arrested for a probation violation and I spent 10 days in jail, I can tell you this...it's pretty damned boring. I was in the county lock-up and from what the regulars told me, that's the worst place to be. The ladies who were there waiting to be sentenced were looking forward to going to prison because they had things to do once they get there. I wouldn't mind doing a week in prison myself, just to write about it but the county lock-up is one boring place to be. I was amazed at how nice the other chicks in there were. No one bothered me, I have a personality that says I am not one to be messed with. Besides that, I was older than most of the people there so they had THAT respect going on. I tried to look at the whole thing as a sociologic survey, but I never knew when I'd be getting out so that had me a tad freaked.
I'd say the worst part was the incredible boredom. That, the guards and the food were both pretty bad as well. The guards were mean for no apparent reason and the food was so disgusting that I couldn't tell you what most of it was. Every night they had some sort of meat by-product covered with some sort of congealed gel subsatnce. One night they would call it Country Fried Steak and the next night they'd call it Fried Chicken. They always has a salad but it was wilted from the heat of the "meal". At breakfast they gave you a tray with a HUGE pile of cereal in it and one pint of milk. There was also some sort of sweet bread and a bag with 4 slices of bread and a few slices of bologna in it. That was supposed to last you until dinner. It was nasty, I must say.
The books that they had there were stupid books, I only found two worth reading and I read them both. I made a friend who I remain in contact with, she's a charming, funny young lady who will someday be an attorney, I have faith in that. That reminds me, I should go through my books and see what I have to take over to the jail, I meant to do that last year and never did. Of course, for all I know, you can't do that but I'll call tomorrow and find out. Hell, I may just GO and ask...I'll be right there. If you'd like to learn more about my experience, go read last February's blog entries...I spoke quite a bit about it at the time.
So, tune in tomorrow, I'll have more to say about the Smith trial. Now I'm going to see if I can find a link to a local news story so that you can see more of what I'm talking about if you'd like. BRB with that link.
OK, I found one:
http://www.courttv.com/trials/smith/020607_background_ctv.html
Meg
posted by Meg Kelso | 1:44 PM
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