Court groupie
I returned, for the most part, to my normal life yesterday - Indy, class, general chaos - which meant the end of my lazy recovery in K-town. More importantly, it was the end of Court TV, and I am already going through live trial withdrawal. I don't have cable TV in Indy, and even if I did, I am rarely home during daytime hours to watch the live trial coverage. The only viable solution would be to invest in cable and TiVo, which I seriously contemplated on my way home today. However, that would result in taping hours of video and my staying up hours at night analyzing the trial right along with the talking legal heads. There I would be, all by myself, talking legalese to my dog, at 2am. I decided this probably was not a practical solution for me.
I definitely got hooked this week on the live coverage of the two separate teenagers on trial for murdering their family members. I am fascinated, as I always am, by watching trial lawyers do their thing in court. For me, witnessing courtroom proceedings rarely gets boring, even when there is nothing dramatic to witness. There's an art to the delivery - of opening statements, direct and cross examinations, the argument for favorable rulings, closing arguments, winning your case. Elements of trial practice can be taught, but to watch seasoned lawyers perfecting their craft - that is my favorite way to learn. You can learn from the good, and you can learn even more from the bad.
I got a bit of actual courtroom experience during a six-month internship at a county prosecutor's office last year. After I'd been there a couple of weeks, I was conducting infraction trials on Thursday afternoons, which rarely lasted more than 30 minutes each and rarely were contested with opposing counsel. They were infractions - traffic violations, barking dogs, etc. Still, I loved walking into the courtroom and sitting at the prosecutor's table. I loved introducing driving records into evidence for the judge. I loved questioning the ticketing officers on the stand. Tickets or felonies or civil suits or appeals, I love being in court. I get that nervous energy that heightens my senses and keeps me on my toes. Being in a courtroom seems to sharpen my mind. I wonder if it will ever get routine for me once I'm an attorney, and I think probably not.
Anyhow, I'm going to miss my Court TV.
I definitely got hooked this week on the live coverage of the two separate teenagers on trial for murdering their family members. I am fascinated, as I always am, by watching trial lawyers do their thing in court. For me, witnessing courtroom proceedings rarely gets boring, even when there is nothing dramatic to witness. There's an art to the delivery - of opening statements, direct and cross examinations, the argument for favorable rulings, closing arguments, winning your case. Elements of trial practice can be taught, but to watch seasoned lawyers perfecting their craft - that is my favorite way to learn. You can learn from the good, and you can learn even more from the bad.
I got a bit of actual courtroom experience during a six-month internship at a county prosecutor's office last year. After I'd been there a couple of weeks, I was conducting infraction trials on Thursday afternoons, which rarely lasted more than 30 minutes each and rarely were contested with opposing counsel. They were infractions - traffic violations, barking dogs, etc. Still, I loved walking into the courtroom and sitting at the prosecutor's table. I loved introducing driving records into evidence for the judge. I loved questioning the ticketing officers on the stand. Tickets or felonies or civil suits or appeals, I love being in court. I get that nervous energy that heightens my senses and keeps me on my toes. Being in a courtroom seems to sharpen my mind. I wonder if it will ever get routine for me once I'm an attorney, and I think probably not.
Anyhow, I'm going to miss my Court TV.
posted by Amanda at 8:42 PM
<< Home