Dedication is all I have to say… I was at the Federal Court House with one of my “new best friends”…she always dresses very well and even tossed me a snack once. We got our coffee and took the elevator to the 8th floor. Glaser is there already (I have a feeling that she keeps hours like my dear friend Lisa Helfend Meyer who also believes that sleep is a waste of time…these are driven women).
After the flurry of lunacy yesterday flying from the jury room to the judge in the form of notes, I was not going be late for the morning hearing. I was the only “media” person present this morning, coming straight to court after having worked all night with my two sons on an assignment around some very high end mega yachts (the rich truly are so different than the rest of us).
Judge Dale Fischer is one of those people you can set your clock by, 7:45 A.M. or a little earlier, but never late. At some point after listening to the defense, who are very upset that it is becoming clear that juror #7 is going to be dismissed, and listening to the prosecution who wants the dismissal and after listening to several jurors the decision is made: juror 7 is dismissed and an alternate is brought in. I noticed that it almost appeared that an alliance was being formed between the Foreperson juror #1, and juror #9. This I think is a concern for the defense and I think that it is a valid concern that should be watched and closely. Judge Fischer makes it perfectly clear that Juror #7 lied, and he was not going to follow the law. and thus her decision. I as an observer and being of relatively sound mind did not see it….it looked as if it was a personality clash between jurors #1, #2 and for sure #9, gotta have a female in the mix. Whatever you may think of this juror, does it not have an effect on the rest of the jury to see how the judge deals with someone who doesn’t “conform”?
When I was in the military I joined the U.S. Navy as I thought that I would look good in white bell bottoms (after all it was the 70s) and was assigned to “finance” by some inbred 1st Class Petty Officer from Arkansas who thought that I was Jewish due to my last name. Upon looking at me and my last name he stated, “you people are good at counting money” and sent me to DK A School. My job was to handle the payroll for Navy and Marine personnel and count money, lots of money. I got a great education from U.S. Marines on a number of subjects — drinking, sex, and how “warriors” are supposed to act. The government’s decision this morning reminded of an ordinance called a Bouncing Betty — this is a land mine that when stepped on would bounce to about waist high and explode, cutting the individual who stepped on it almost in half. It was horrible and almost always fatal. Will this decision by the court end up bouncing back and ultimately affect the verdict?