I opened my laptop to write this post and had these three thoughts:
First, I know what I want to write about, but what do I want to say?
Then, what time is it?
And finally, what day is it?
So, I closed my laptop.
More than 24 hours later, I was here again, trying to write.
And yet again, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to say. Or what time it was. Or what day it was.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. on Wednesday.
So, here I am...finally...on Thursday, with a post.
This law thing has some slight similarities to my days of counseling and teaching, but overall, it's all new business to me. As I've mentioned previously, before dating Cliff I knew little more about the world of court than that a Judge wore a robe and hammered a gavel. (By the way, in reality, I have yet to see a gavel.)
I helped Cliff with a criminal jury trial a few months ago. We prepared for hours on end. Literally, we worked for 18-20 hours a day for a few days in a row. Over a weekend. Reports, photos, prelim info scattered everywhere. Pacing. Dictating to each other. Bouncing thoughts off of each other. Researching the jury pool. Then we spent a full, loooong day in court. Then we lost the trial. And I felt like the system failed us. Maybe our client wasn't innocent, but I combed through every single detail of that trial and I did not believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, that there was evidence that he was guilty.
This week, we helped the Defense with a huge jury trial in Chariton County. It was a change of venue case that started in Audrain County, and ended up with us. Days before the trial, we poured time in offering details about the jurors we knew. We closed our offices for the week so we could be available all five days of the trial. We showed up for Voir dire at 8am on Monday. We intently surveyed the jury pool every second of Voir dire for body language, verbal cues, and attitudes. We sat through the State's witnesses for Day One. We got home at some point that evening and I literally can not remember what happened next. I think we both might have slept for four hours or so. I think we skipped dinner and I ate a bologna sandwich at 11pm. I know I took my migraine medicine multiple times because I was in serious pain.
Then, we got up on Tuesday and started it all over again. Except, at about 11am, the State rested. And then we met with the Defendant, his mother, and his attorneys, and everyone agreed that we had butchered each of the State's witnesses. The Defendant himself believed he could see "not guilty" all over the faces of the jury. We all felt very confident that the State had lost this case. So, without calling any witnesses at all, the Defense rested also.
The jury deliberated.
And then the Judge read the verdict.
Guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Guilty of leaving the scene of an accident.
And our five day trial was over in two days.
Yesterday, we stayed home, tried to get back on track with our own cases, and re-group. But at 8pm, I woke up and realized that we had both been sleeping again. We hadn't eaten dinner yet. I still didn't know what day it was.
All of this has brought a lot to my mind. It's unbelievable the way these trials completely consume our lives. It's all we think about, talk about, dream about. They completely exhaust us. We discuss what could have been done, what could have been done differently, what the jury was thinking, what we learned from it, what case law we need to review, what to do better next time. And it truly feels like I lived in an alternate personality for the past four days. It's scary that I can't remember much of anything that happened over the past 72 hours. It's scary that my brain physically hurt from thinking so much.
Today, Cliff had court this morning and then we took off for Columbia. We just took it easy, did what we wanted to do, and tried to relax. I think we're finally back into the realm of reality. I know it's Thursday. I know it's 6:30pm. We've eaten dinner already. My migraine is gone. And Cliff found someone brave enough to go hunting with him in this single digit weather, so all is right in the world.
All except that thing about hunting in single digit weather.
First, I know what I want to write about, but what do I want to say?
Then, what time is it?
And finally, what day is it?
So, I closed my laptop.
More than 24 hours later, I was here again, trying to write.
And yet again, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to say. Or what time it was. Or what day it was.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. on Wednesday.
So, here I am...finally...on Thursday, with a post.
This law thing has some slight similarities to my days of counseling and teaching, but overall, it's all new business to me. As I've mentioned previously, before dating Cliff I knew little more about the world of court than that a Judge wore a robe and hammered a gavel. (By the way, in reality, I have yet to see a gavel.)
I helped Cliff with a criminal jury trial a few months ago. We prepared for hours on end. Literally, we worked for 18-20 hours a day for a few days in a row. Over a weekend. Reports, photos, prelim info scattered everywhere. Pacing. Dictating to each other. Bouncing thoughts off of each other. Researching the jury pool. Then we spent a full, loooong day in court. Then we lost the trial. And I felt like the system failed us. Maybe our client wasn't innocent, but I combed through every single detail of that trial and I did not believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, that there was evidence that he was guilty.
This week, we helped the Defense with a huge jury trial in Chariton County. It was a change of venue case that started in Audrain County, and ended up with us. Days before the trial, we poured time in offering details about the jurors we knew. We closed our offices for the week so we could be available all five days of the trial. We showed up for Voir dire at 8am on Monday. We intently surveyed the jury pool every second of Voir dire for body language, verbal cues, and attitudes. We sat through the State's witnesses for Day One. We got home at some point that evening and I literally can not remember what happened next. I think we both might have slept for four hours or so. I think we skipped dinner and I ate a bologna sandwich at 11pm. I know I took my migraine medicine multiple times because I was in serious pain.
Then, we got up on Tuesday and started it all over again. Except, at about 11am, the State rested. And then we met with the Defendant, his mother, and his attorneys, and everyone agreed that we had butchered each of the State's witnesses. The Defendant himself believed he could see "not guilty" all over the faces of the jury. We all felt very confident that the State had lost this case. So, without calling any witnesses at all, the Defense rested also.
The jury deliberated.
And then the Judge read the verdict.
Guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Guilty of leaving the scene of an accident.
And our five day trial was over in two days.
Yesterday, we stayed home, tried to get back on track with our own cases, and re-group. But at 8pm, I woke up and realized that we had both been sleeping again. We hadn't eaten dinner yet. I still didn't know what day it was.
All of this has brought a lot to my mind. It's unbelievable the way these trials completely consume our lives. It's all we think about, talk about, dream about. They completely exhaust us. We discuss what could have been done, what could have been done differently, what the jury was thinking, what we learned from it, what case law we need to review, what to do better next time. And it truly feels like I lived in an alternate personality for the past four days. It's scary that I can't remember much of anything that happened over the past 72 hours. It's scary that my brain physically hurt from thinking so much.
Today, Cliff had court this morning and then we took off for Columbia. We just took it easy, did what we wanted to do, and tried to relax. I think we're finally back into the realm of reality. I know it's Thursday. I know it's 6:30pm. We've eaten dinner already. My migraine is gone. And Cliff found someone brave enough to go hunting with him in this single digit weather, so all is right in the world.
All except that thing about hunting in single digit weather.
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