There were three days of pre-trial hearings for the RNC8 last week. We are developing a rapport with Judge Warner. The lawyers are working out ways to work together. Even the security apparatus in the courthouse has relaxed somewhat -- we are down from four deputies in the back of the courtroom to just one. And from three or four undercover cops down to one and a half. (Some of the undercover cops are on the witness list and therefore can't come to the hearings. So we have new ones.)
Friends, in a trial, the jury decides the case based on the evidence. So the judge watches out for the jury to make sure they can see and hear everything and get adequate breaks. Some judges even allow the jurors to have coffee!
This is a pre-trial hearing, and the judge is going to decide whether the prosecution has enough evidence to go to trial. So she is asking questions and trying to understand each and every piece of evidence put before her. She seems to have great powers of concentration and a memory for details, which I suppose is a good thing in a case like this.
But she also believes that she is "responsible for what goes on in the courtroom," so she always has an eye and an ear open for what is going on around her. She gets mad about anything that makes it hard for the court reporter to hear. (The court reporter has a hard job, too; one that also requires extended periods of concentration.) She doesn't have time for anything that takes her focus off the evidence being presented. She seriously intends to understand every single piece of evidence presented to her and means to put it in its proper context. This is a serious intellectual challenge and she is not going to put up with distractions.
The only person getting a break in this courtroom is the 80-year-old co-counsel whose court-provided earphones sometimes give off ear-splitting whistles as he adjusts them. He hasn't been reprimanded once.
For the rest of us -- if a cell phone or a pager or even a watch alarm goes off -- we're done for the day. You can come back tomorrow, but you won't be in court any more that day.
So, people: check your electronic gear. Check your friends' electronic gear. Check it before you enter the courtroom. Do not open your phone in the courtroom. The judge doesn't want any live-blogging or tweeting in the courtroom. The bailiff doesn't want anyone taking pictures in the courtroom (that is out-and-out illegal).
The lawyers and defendants are being permitted to use computers in the courtroom. The members of the audience ('the gallery') are not.
Water is being allowed in containers with lids. Other beverages are not.
With all that, we'd still like to see you in court if you can make it. We are listening to undercover informants testify about whether they ever heard the defendants agree to injure people or damage property. So far, an undercover sheriff's deputy has testified that she followed them around for a year and she's got nothing. We heard some funny stories though -- like the time the three informants went to case a building for a banner drop. There was no one else with them -- it was just the government agents conspiring to commit illegal acts!
According the Court Calendar, we're back in Room 131B* of the Ramsey County Courthouse. That's on the ground floor. Go to room 130, where people pay their fines and where the blue video monitors are located. In the back of that room are two doors labeled 131A and 131B. You want the one on the right.
*NOTE FROM MAY 13TH E-MAIL UPDATE: The RNC8 hearing for Thursday and Friday, May 13th and 14th, has been moved to Room 1080.
Hearings will be held on Thursday May 13th and Friday May 14th from 9 AM to 5 PM with a break for lunch. Unlike the defendants, you can come when you want and you can leave when you want. If you can only come for part of the day or just a few hours, come when you can.
There will be a simple lunch served for defendants and their supporters. It will be in the basement if the weather is bad, and in the park across Kellogg Boulevard from the Courthouse if the weather is good.
My deepest thanks to all of you who came last week and a warm welcome to all who come this week.
Margaret
Courtwatch Working Group
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