Law & Order
Yesterday I did something I have always wanted to do; I went to court. Lots of people get jury duty notices and go and see the whole process and declare the justice system broken. Joe had 2 this year (one for Federal and one for County) and reminded me of how boring it is. I did not have a jury notice Friday, but I did have an entertaining reason and a good night's sleep which was all I needed to finally just go down there and see what things were like.
My excuse to go down there was for a coworker and friend. She takes care of a child and the real mother has been less than honest since she was arrested a while back. I was there to see what the outcome would be and report back. So I grabbed my notebook and took notes in the courtroom through a few cases, pretending I was there for some class. I watched a guy burst into tears when he would have to serve community service hours for getting caught dining and dashing on a $27.50 bill. I watched a lot of DUI cases get dismissed, which scare me. I watched a lot of cases get set back weeks or months just so the person could wait even longer to face the music. I watched a lot of public defenders that had too many case loads. I saw people handcuffed. I saw people cry. I saw entire families come in to support their own for minor infractions. There isn't exciting "chung-chung" noises between scenes and a lot of it is standing around and waiting, but it was an interesting time and I learned a lot.
Something I noticed that you never see on TV was the personalization of spaces. For instance, the coffee stand inside the courthouse is only accessible via a glass window that was covered in baby pictures. The judge's assistant's space was decorated with sports items, that you could see clearly from the public seating area. On television everything always looks so cold and rank and file.
I think my notice of it goes with how I have been thinking about spaces in the condo. I saw this house in a magazine and I very much want the office and possibly the bathroom with this feel to it, but I need to look into where to start. Thank goodness we are staying here for a while because there is so much to do.
My excuse to go down there was for a coworker and friend. She takes care of a child and the real mother has been less than honest since she was arrested a while back. I was there to see what the outcome would be and report back. So I grabbed my notebook and took notes in the courtroom through a few cases, pretending I was there for some class. I watched a guy burst into tears when he would have to serve community service hours for getting caught dining and dashing on a $27.50 bill. I watched a lot of DUI cases get dismissed, which scare me. I watched a lot of cases get set back weeks or months just so the person could wait even longer to face the music. I watched a lot of public defenders that had too many case loads. I saw people handcuffed. I saw people cry. I saw entire families come in to support their own for minor infractions. There isn't exciting "chung-chung" noises between scenes and a lot of it is standing around and waiting, but it was an interesting time and I learned a lot.
Something I noticed that you never see on TV was the personalization of spaces. For instance, the coffee stand inside the courthouse is only accessible via a glass window that was covered in baby pictures. The judge's assistant's space was decorated with sports items, that you could see clearly from the public seating area. On television everything always looks so cold and rank and file.
I think my notice of it goes with how I have been thinking about spaces in the condo. I saw this house in a magazine and I very much want the office and possibly the bathroom with this feel to it, but I need to look into where to start. Thank goodness we are staying here for a while because there is so much to do.