Back to Basics . . .

When I first started this blog it was intended to basically chronicle two things: bootcamp (which I'm so sad I'm not able to do my old bootcamp anymore) and legal happenings. With that in mind, I'm hoping to pick these two topics back up.

First, I've pretty much decided I'm going to do the ING Georgia Half-Marathon in 2009. All I need to do is sign up and start training. Motivation, please? I really, really enjoyed participating in the race in 2007, and this year as a volunteer just made me sad. So, I plan to just sign up and go, and hope you all will listen to me moan about the sore muscles and feet. Okay? Thanks!

Second, I'm planning to post once or twice a week my thoughts on the Brian Nichols murder trial as it progresses. This is a story that has been going on in Atlanta for three and a half years. If you're unfamiliar at all with this case you can read more on the AJC's website. They have a whole Brian Nichols section which pretty much covers the last month or so.

I can remember sitting in The Flying Biscuit with some law school classmates when this happened. Our morning class was canceled and we decided to go eat breakfast. A classmate of ours called to see where we were and to let us know they were blocking off all the streets downtown. At that point, we just knew there had been a shooting. As the day progressed, we learned a judge, court reporter, sheriff's officer, and federal agent were all dead, another sheriff's officer was critically injured, and the authorities had no idea where Brian Nichols was. In the five years that I've lived in Atlanta, that Friday (and Saturday up until Nichols was arrested) has been the only night I was scared to stay alone in my apartment.

Anyway, today was the first day of the Nichols trial. It's stretched through tons of delays and hundreds of potential jurors. Nichols pled not guilty by reason of insanity and I'm interested to see how the defense is going to argue this to the jury. The big news from today? Prosecutors played the courtroom tape of the shooting during their opening arguments. I imagine that was extremely intense for everyone. The most interesting thing? A male juror requested he be dismissed from the jury for emotional, mental and dental reasons. What did Judge Bodiford do? He removed him from the jury, but ordered him to sit in the courtroom every day during the trial, but he will be unable to participate in deliberations at all. He's pretty much a shadow juror, or as the AJC put it, he's been put in "adult detention."

Honestly, I really was relieved that I didn't get called for jury duty for this case. I doubt that I would've been chosen to serve if I had received a summons, but I would've done it if I had. I would love to sit on a jury, although I would prefer it wasn't one that was expected to last three to four months. But to have told the attorneys and the judge that you were willing to serve and then request to be relieved on the morning of trial? It's unfair to everyone involved, especially the jurors who are sitting on this case.

I suppose this case hits close to home for me because I practice in the courthouse where this took place, as do many of my friends. I have followed an attorney and his client through a metal detector in another Metro Atlanta courthouse, only to have the client be arrested for having a loaded gun in the bag he sent through the x-ray machine. What's worse? I later sat by his attorney at counsel table in my assigned courtroom. Once I was excused from the courtroom by the Judge, I promptly went to the bathroom and vomited. Seriously. My Mom had one of her client's go berserk after a bond hearing. He poured poison down his throat and tasered numerous officers and attorneys as they tried to get him under control. This is something I think about nearly every time I walk into a courthouse for a case and it's scary. Unfortunately, it's something that attorneys have to worry about constantly, and not only with regard to the courtroom.

So, I'll be following the case here as things happen. Not up to the minute by any means, but as my thoughts on the case prompt me.