The court is now in recess

October 23, 2014
Day 176

Today is Thursday, and the trial is on recess today.  It's the only time I'll have a day in the week off, but it also means I'm at work today...at my regular job.

We get little recesses each day during the trial: one break in the morning, one break for lunch, and one more in the afternoon.  Because the breaks add up to 90 minutes, and the trial day lasts from 10-5, we sit through approximately 5-and-a-half hours of trial time each day.  Doesn't sound like much, I know, but I promise you, it feels more like 10 hours' worth!

Once the mid-morning break arrives, everyone in the courtroom stands for us as we walk out.  They always stand for us when we move in or out, which is kinda nice.  Of course, jail mates stand for a death-row prisoner on his walk to the chair too, but I digress. 

I'm Juror #2, so as I mentioned before, it allows me quick access to one of the two private bathrooms located just outside the jurors' room.  Then I get into the room itself, and amid some random banter here and there about anything other than the trial, we all quickly settle down.

I can't just dive into a book on my 15-minute break.  I need to first allow all the courtroom-centric, trial-related thoughts float down from my brain and into my memory as best I can.  I literally imagine them all popping about this way and that, and need to let them settle before I can do anything else.  Once they have, I open up a book, and let myself wander into another subject matter for a while, just to calm myself down from the trial.  I may have a small cup of coffee at this time too.

Lunchtime is its own little adventure out into the world.  I leave my bag in the jurors' room, and wander off looking for something to eat.  I retrieve my phone from security, and call Andy at some point to say hi.  After I've eaten, I wander back inside, surrender my phone and go through security again, before heading upstairs to do some more reading.  It's a small room for the jurors, but just big enough for 15 people (12 jurors and 3 alternates) to sit around a table and either chat or read quietly.  Nice view of downtown Manhattan from there too.  We all get along well, but it really is much like being stuck in an elevator.  You can have friendly conversations for hours, but none of us expect to ever see the others again once we're free.

The afternoon recess is much like the morning one, except by this point, our minds are a little more fried.  The day already feels late, and even though we only have an hour to an hour and a half left, we may as well have six more hours ahead of us.  For me, my bed is no where near close by, so it can all be--  Well, it can all be something of a trial.