Tribulations of Trials; or Tacoma Aroma Therapy

Yesterday I observed my first trial... not from the perspective of the defendant, that is. It was probably about as routine a trial as can be, yet it was fascinating. From jury selection to the strategy for calling witnesses to watching the judge, inexplicably, repremand the prosecuting attorney for taking up too much time, it was fascinating. The prosecutor knew that juries often acquit defendants when the prosecutor leaves what might really be unimportant questions unanswered. To prevent that from happening, we decided to be extra thorough, even though it meant putting a meth addict, who looked really bad, on the stand.... just to preempt the defense from raising questions about her in closing. The addict's presence there was probably not understood at all by the jury, nor by the judge... as he told the prosecutor that precious time was wasted by putting her on the stand. After a brief explanation, the judge basically recanted, and told a story about an obviously guilty man getting off for a similar reason... weird. The trial continues today, but because of some things due tomorrow here at work, I decided that I should go to work instead. The irony, is that I got those things done really quickly, and now have nothing to do, and no one to give me more work. Silly me.

Watching the trial yesterday made me seriously consider the efficacy of the sentence enhancements for firearms, and the illegality of drugs. The meth addict was put on the stand and asked to id the defendant. She scanned the room, and said, "he's not here." Everyone's eyes just about jumped out of their heads. The judge, said, "he's not the person sitting over there?" as he pointed to the defendant. "OH, my goodness," she said, "I didn't recognize him at all." This interaction shows what 3 months in prison, not doing meth can do to someone's appearance. Seeing this totally strung out woman, on the other hand, was pretty good evidence of the way meth can destroy someone's life. The fact that the defendant looked healthy and normal has made me begin to rethink my position on the illegality of drugs. Perhaps locking addicts up isn't that bad after all, especially if the prison offers rehab services. I am not sure that all inmates get rehab, but I'd like to think that they do.