48 Hours

Photo:  Sitting in the hall of the 7th floor of King County Superior Court.

Thursday

4:30   Slide sideways out of bed.  Do everything necessary to get out of house.

5:15     Drop Nala off at downtown dog lounge.

5:45     Arrive at SeaTac.  Park.  Walk.  Get thru security. Wait. Board.

7:00    Lift off.  Eat lemon luna bar.  Pull up P case on ipad.  Exhibits have been loaded into Trialpad.  Scroll through them.  Nod off.  Child kicks seat.  Get back to work.  Eat too many grapes.

10:15   Arrive.  Call ride.  Walk through terminal.  Get in car.  Drive to law office for deposition. Park. Arrive. Set up laptop and ipad. Wifi is lame.

11:00   Deposition begins.  Defense lawyer is grumpy and snappy.  The trial starts this next Tuesday in Skagit county where there is no discovery cut off.  I had asked him to do this deposition by skype.  But he wanted to "see the expert's eyeballs."  I'm the one who should be grumpy.

11:10   Stop the deposition.  Need a break.  Ate too many grapes.  Defense doesn't want me to take a break.  Think he's joking.  He's not.  I begin to explain the gastrointestinal details of my situation.  He relents just as I'm about to go into the graphic parts.   We break.  I run back and forth to restroom.

11:20  Resume

13:15  Finish.  Pack up.  Drive back to airport.  Walk.  Get thru security.  Pick up salad. Wait.  Board.

14:45  Lift off.  Eat mediocre salad consisting of mainly spinach leaves.  Change brain from the P case to the D case.  Work on the computer.

17:30  Arrive.  Walk.  Drive back.  Listen to where I last left off on excellent biography of Maurice White: My Life with Earth Wind & Fire.  Rush hour.  Pick up Nala from DDL.

18:45  Arrive back home.  Take Nala out.  Need to start preparing the D case for tomorrow.  Am feeling a bit foggy.

19:00  Eat a little protein.

19:15   Look quickly through 125 emails.

19:30  Pull out bag of Boom Chica Pop popcorn.  Which costs $3.99 and is hard to justify but sometimes the thought of pulling out the pot is too much.  Shake vegan parmesan on top.  Highly recommend this - quite delicious.  Grab piece of chocolate and iced green tea.  Treat for Nala.

19:40  Go downstairs.  Watch Season 1 Episode 7 of The Paradise a BBC series.

20:35  Finish. Fog has cleared. Go upstairs.  Put away dishes.  Take Nala for walk.

20:50  Perform ablutions.

21:15  Pull out computer.  First summary judgment - statute of repose and legal causation.  Go through all briefing.  Condense all legal authorities in argument from 20 pages to 3.  Remove all facts as know those.

22:45  Second summary judgment - vicarious parental liability.  Go through all briefing.  Condense all legal authorities and standards to 4 pages.  Remove all facts as know those.  Open Westlaw.  Read again the Zellmer, Jenkins, Chhuth, Baughn line of cases which support our side.  Read again the McAndless line of cases which support their side.

Friday

00:45  Go to sleep

6:15     Wake up so  can prepare more on the D case.  Think about it.  Don't get up.

7:00    Decide am prepared enough.   I imbibed what I needed the night before.  Can recite cases in head.  Now just need to speak it from the heart.   Hop out of bed and get going.

7:45     Bring Nala with me since this won't take too long and cleaners need her out of house.  Arrive.  Park.  Walk across street.  Thru tunnel.  Thru security.  Look in cafeteria for something to eat.  There is nothing there except candy bars and old Costco muffins.  Leave.  Walk up 7 flights of stairs.

8:15    Sit on bench.  Wait for client.  Take a sip from water thermos. He arrives.  Wait for courtroom door to open. Bailiff goes in.  Wait.  Defense lawyers arrive.  They look at my client.  I introduce them.  They graciously say hi and he even more graciously says hi back.  Chit chat.

8:50    Courtroom door opens.  We enter.  Sit around the tables that are covered with trial exhibits, monitors, and other paraphernalia from an ongoing criminal matter.  Fridays there is no trial.  Time to argue motions.

9:00   Reporter comes in.  She is wearing Kelly green coat and studded pointy toe flats.  Tres chic.  She's followed by a camera man.  The three defense lawyers stiffen then buzz together shocked.  Reporter talks to bailiff.  They set up.  Tummy starts rumbling.  Notice there is a small Honeycrisp apple in purse.  Go into hall.  Eat four large bites which should hold me.  Return.  Drop half eaten apple in garbage can under the table.

9:10   Judge Jim Rogers enters.  We rise.  We sit.  Before we begin the lead defense lawyer rises and says he wants to tell my client how sorry he and his client is.  He is a father too.  A very nicely done apology.  But why wasn't it said when we were all together privately in the hall.  Or before court was in session.  Or before the camera was going.

9:15   Argument begins on the summary judgment motions.

10:30  Argument concludes.  Judge Rogers rules that defendant number two stays in the case and the statute of repose does not apply.  Takes the other two issues under advisement.  Sign the order re statute of repose.

10:45  Reporter briefly interviews client.  Leaves.

11:00   Depart court with client.  Back to car.  Apologize to Nala.  Drive to office.  Walk Nala.  Remove case D from brain.  Put P case back on.

12:00  Meet with witness for P case trial preparation.

13:00  Need to eat something.  Look in office closet.  Pull out caramel almond Kind bar and a handful of trailmix.  Nosh.  Drink from thermos.  Make several calls.  Deal with line up on email.  Talk to Jesica.  Say hi to various people coming by for visits and to say hi.

13:45  Get in car.  Let Nala do her business and drop her at the house.  Drive downtown to 1325 4th which is State Bar Association headquarters.  Miss parking garage.  Circle block again.  Park.  Walk and elevator up.  Remove P case from Brain.  Put in Mock Trial for seminar case.

2:20   Arrive.  Listen to last speaker.  Greet moderators.  Take lavalier microphone.  Try to figure out where to clip it.  Jack pockets are faux.  Am wearing a dress.  Decide to clip it to boot.  Say hi to old friends.  Try not to get tangled up in cord which dangles under heel.  Tuck cord into boot.

2:45   Greet audience.  Say - do you want me to explain opening statement and then do a demo or do you want me to just do it (the demo).  They chant - do it.  So I do it first.

4:15  Finish.  Say goodbye.  Remove Mock Trial Case from brain.   It is 60 and pretty outside.  I could walk down a block and go to Veggie Grill for delicious meal.  Or I could take Nala for a run.  Drive home barely beating rush hour.

4:45   Arrive.  Throw on running gear.  Feed Nala who is jumping and wiggling for joy.  Go for run.

5:45   Return.  Pick up some leaves. Defrost lentil soup that Alysha made for me.  Shower.  Eat soup.  Calls with family.

8:15  Pop popcorn in a pot.  Only burn half a dozen kernels.  Toss with vegan butter and parma (am addicted).  Cut pomegranate in half.  Go downstairs with Nala.  Watch 4 Weddings and a Funeral.

10:15  Take Nala out.  Settle down.  Look at calendar to see what is happening tomorrow.    Turn Sonos to Brian McKnight Pandora station.  A couple hours later call it a day.