Postscript: this is from my trial diary of prophylaxis class action against seattle children’s hospital.
Trial day 3
6:00 Cockadoodle doo. Wake up.
6:25 Get up and make bed.
6:45 White T. tan lulu shorts. Pink crock slides. Pink sweater jacket picked up over the weekend once decided to stay another week.
Read MoreWe settled the protest case for $10M the day before. Actually it had been lingering for a week since the mediation. When the city agreed to a deal then two stepped before refusing to put it in writing. Double crossers.
Read MoreLululemon dress day 3 of 5 returns to court. JHB has been outfitted with the big podium and a comfortable stool. The podium is directly between our parallel tables. He would be on top of our clients. I sit below him instead. They move back. Out of the way.
JHB has had all night to prepare. And we all settle in. Judge Kn addresses us. Are we ready. And we both say yes.
Read MoreNot only do we not finish. But am crying again. On the phone with Alysha and Noelle. Making journey back from Ephrata to the hotel in George.
Rewind.
Read MoreWe don’t finish.
Have packed up the car. Exited the hotel. Am wearing my last court outfit. And we are not going to finish.
Rewind.
Wake up an hour early.Unsettled.Had been working on closing at night.And it still has not all the way come together.Lie there.And let brain bounce wherever it wants to go.There’s a lot of noise involved in this case.Mudslinging.Collateral issues.Family drama.
Read MoreJ Mc is undergoing cross. Doing well. JHB is attacking her with collateral issues. But they are messy. And mess is always good for the defense. Distracts. Confuses. Brief redirect. Jury questions. There are too many of them. Some of them are pointed. I don’t like them as a whole. JHB is elated. Saying: I agree to all of them with a flourish.
The seesaw of doubt is ever present in trial. My innards flow depending on how everything is tilting. Sometimes perhaps I make it up in my mind. But I’ve done enough trials to know to trust my innards. They feel even when I don’t want them to. Squelch the feeling.
Read MoreWe are back in court. Judge K enters the courtroom. One of the 90 or so folks watching the trial via Webex is talking about the Supreme Court nominations process. Today is the first day of the confirmation hearings of Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Judge K asks them to mute. They don’t realize they can be heard. Someone else is shuffling something. Judge K asks for help. Leaves. Returns. Gets things under control.
C Mc the son retakes the stand.
Read MorePack up. Haul bags to car so can return directly to Seattle after trial. It’s beautiful. Cold. A whisper of ice on the windows. Turn on the defroster. The ice disappears without needing a scrape. We start 15 minutes early.
Before beginning Judge Knodel asks if there’s anything to discuss. Asks about JHB’s health. Apologizes to me for never asking about mine. Chuckle and tell him I’m fine. The judge quotes a line. I can tell right away where it’s from. JHB says: what. And is frowning. What did you say about evil. Judge repeats the quote as JHB’s scowl grows. Judge says: it is a line from scripture. He meant it in a light hearted fashion to address I believe things like poor health. JHB looks exasperated. Judge K deflates.
Read MoreIt’s the end of the day. Driving back to the hotel. On the phone with best friend Shellie. Trying to explain what trial is like. And the only word that does it justice is – war. It is war Shellie. In all my years of trying cases, I have never been in a trial like this. Where the defense attorney and I literally detest each other. And it is all playing out in front of the jury. Because the judge is not restraining us at all. JHB is a bully of the highest order. And many years ago my mother taught me what to do about bullies.
Read MoreRain fell last night. The sun has risen. Look through the window over the top of Fatburger. It is a sparkling cool but beautiful blue day in George, Washington.
Today am wearing a flouncy flowered skirt topped with a beige jacket. Hair ruthlessly clipped back. When I was in college one of my favorite tv characters was Veronica Hamel who played an attorney in The Hill Street Blues. I don’t know if there had been a female attorney before on tv – but she was iconic. She had black longer hair which was not stick straight and she wore it clipped back simply. When I pull my hair back it’s like channeling her.
Read MoreWe had trial day 5 on Friday – a day when we should have been able to work on other cases or prep for trial. From 9 to 3:45. Furhad stayed with JHB in Grant County but I had driven home. At least trial for me mercifully was via Webex in the comfort of lululemon with nala at my side. It was nothing but aggravating and did not deserve its own trial diary entry with one notable exception.
In this era of being respectful of other people’s pronouns, the court, JHB and Furhad all decided to not be able to know how to address me.
Read Morem sitting in a room that is 8 x 6 ‘. Lynette the jury coordinator let me in. My own private cubicle to stay during the lunch hour. The desk is a cabinet with drawers. I love it all.
We started at 11 this morning because the judge had a conflict. One hour to argue. One hour to get frustrated arguing about the same three blasted depositions.
JHB is all over the place. Yet am not fooled. He is persistent and dogged and even if he’s wrong that is his schtick.
Read MoreThe ironing board is out. First time have used one for anything but dinner napkins in decades. Have no choice. The black jumpsuit am going to wear is super wrinkled. Turn it inside out and press. Not perfect but it will do. Throw on with white jacket. Add puffy coat. Walk out the hotel door and get hit with a blast of frigid wind that about turns my hair straight.
Read MoreGrant County has a beautiful old courthouse façade set back on a majestic green lawn. But it is not where superior court is. No. If you enter via those pretty portals you have a winding path to follow. First you have to walk to the end of the hall. Down the stairs. Go outside. Across a cement patio. To a separate soulless block of a building with no windows. That is where we are trying cases. And so I enter through that ugly back entrance properly today.
Read MoreMarch 7, 2022
Trial Day 1
Wake up in gray hotel room. There’s a text from Furhad - our first year associate who will help me in trial. He’s going to the courthouse and leaving at 8.
Smile. The doors won’t be open then but okay. Send him text – telling him so and that I’ll be there at 8:45.
Read MoreTrial day 7
Part of a trial lawyer’s worry – is the concern that without a clear cut case, pounding on damages may be too much. Perhaps jurors will be pushed over the edge into voting against liability. But while looking at the dynamics from all directions is always a worthy exercise, we are in trial and there is no time to be faint of heart.
Mr. P went through torture ending in death. We must own that. Not shy away from it. At the same time we should be guided by principles of compassion, decency for the survivors’ sake, and overall humanity in the presentation.
Read MoreIf the defense was to bring their jury consultant back, there would be major problems. First, no room for that person to sit. Second, the jurors’ faces are covered by masks. You can see no expression. Every so often you can see someone nod. But there is no real rhyme or reason to that. They are also spread out across the entire courtroom. You can’t glance over at them. You’d have to scan dozens of linear feet.
Part of my being in trial, includes feeling of the jury. Now they are physically hidden. Still, can sense something. They are calm. They are not restless. No one is dozing. They are paying close attention. Some taking notes.
Read MoreDid I tell you that Steve F. got in trouble yesterday. Almost enough to satisfy me. But not quite.
In the middle of damages opening. Tell the jury that the defense expert doctor is going to say he did not feel pain. Steve is hopping up. Objecting on top of my sentence. We aren’t calling any such witness – he charges. Judge Parisien calls a non-socially distanced sidebar in the corner of the conference room perfectly in sight of everyone.
Read MoreHead over the bridge to Bellevue. Enter the parking garage. The gates are up. A sign is taped over the ticket machine. Free parking. Slide into a spot. Walk a few feet to the entrance. It is all so clean and perfect and sterile as heck. Miss the cracked sidewalks, scores of people, and general dishabille of King County Superior Court at 3rd and Stewart. Even the long and twisty security lines. We are set up and ready to zoom voir dire.
Read MoreBy far the biggest challenge in our covid trial is the mask situation. Never mind that we are in a convention center conference room. Or that the jury is spread out across the ballroom floor. This is from my trial diary - day 1.
The defense lawyer is a distraction. Or rather his facemask is. It is dark blue with a design that looks like either big diamonds or a faux Louis Vuitton print. Can’t quite decide if it is garish or neat. It is for certain bold. And has me transfixed.
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