Trial Day 9, Altus Day 13

I saw the Dixie Chicks have a myspace account and I listened to the new song. It's called "Not Ready to Make Nice" and it's great. People got all stupid that she made that comment about being embarrassed about George W. being our president. Hello - I think I can safely say that there are probably a lot of people that feel that way and she just had the balls to say it out loud. That's the beauty of this country - we can say whatever the hell we want to. It doesn't infringe on anyone else's right - they have the right to disagree. But it's bullshit to trash someone for speaking their truth. More people should tell it like it is and quit being such namby pamby politically correct puppets. Fuck political correctness. George W. is an illiterate jackass - that's not worth sending someone death threats over. I applaud her for sticking to her guns. Maybe it didn't present a united front and maybe it could have been handled a little better, but yay for her for not backing down just because some people think she should. If you can't be true to yourself, then you probably can't be true to anyone else. Rock on Natalie.

Back to the trial - the state went all day again. They played the OSBI investigation interview wherein two OSBI agents literally hotboxed and bullied this woman for over two hours. They suck. I want to look at that bitch agent and ask her how she can look someone in the face and lie like that and how she sleeps at night. I can't wait until she gets shredded on the stand. They had their only medical expert today and I think I can safely say he was not a happy camper when he left the stand. SJ stood up when it was his turn to ask him questions and he simply said, "Is it true that you took pictures of a woman giving birth without her consent?" They guy emphatically says NO. So SJ asks him again. The other side objects and they go to the bench. They were so pissed. Then the judge ALLOWED SJ to continue with that line of questioning because it goes to impeach his credibility and they were so mad - they literally stomped back to their table and flopped in their chairs. So he goes on and says no and SJ says, "Well, did a court in Pennsylvania find that you did?" They guy says no. SJ asks him was there another ______ at this particular program in 1972 and he says, "I don't think so" and SJ says, "I didn't think so, either, Doctor." Then he asks him some more questions and ends with, "Thank you, Doctor, nice to see ya again." That doctor was so pissed when he left and the DA's table was fuming. It was too funny. About as good as yesterday when he asked the medical examiner if it wasn't true that he's ridden his Harley into the morgue to weigh it on the scales. That was also great. You would think the DA's office would have checked their people out a little better. They get so mad. Things like that are why I love this job so much. There really are some truly hilarious moments. Who knows what they jury is thinking though - hard to know. Hopefully they're seeing it all the way we are, but you never know.

Day 7563

State's still going. And going.... and going.... and going.....

Still here in Altus. We've decided that we definitely don't want to have to call an ambulance while we're here or get arrested, lol. They're all gonna hate us by the time we're through if they don't already. One guy that owns the restaurant we've been to a couple of times came over to meet SJ tonight and said that he read that article and was pissed because their DA wasn't bright enough to figure out the record thing and we were. He said if you were smart enough to figure it out, how'd they miss it? Anyway - it was kind of funny. As much as the EMS people and the law enforcement people don't like us right now, SJ's the celebrity in town and he's been approached a few times since we've been here. Hearing some great stories. Missing everyone though. Today was good for us. Hopefully tomorrow will be, too.

www.altustimes.com - the one that comes out tomorrow afternoon should be really good - we opened up a can of worms about one of their experts that they didn't know and the reporter is running with it. :)

What is this, day 9? 10?

I've lost track at this point and am frankly too tired to bother counting. The trial is being covered in the Altus Times which is www.altustimes.com for anyone interested in reading about what I'm doing here. Today was a Monday in every way it could be. Over slept. Court was weird today. Every time there's a glitch I worry and hope to God it's not my fault for not copying something right or something - of course it hasn't been, but I worry nonetheless. There's a lot at stake here and I can't help it but to second guess sometimes. It seems like forever since I've seen my family or the normal world and it looks like it's going to be a while yet. I had a dream the other night that all this law stuff was just too hard so I quit and went to work at a sandwich shop, but then I realized that sucked and wanted my job back. Don't know what that meant... I don't know how lawyers aren't all drunks on high blood pressure medication after some days. I need some beers and I'm not even the lawyer. Anyway - I had a break for a while so I thought I would touch base.

Day 8

Well, I'm still here in Altus America. I slept in late this morning, got up, took a bath, took a nap, messed around in town for a bit, came back and worked on my new profile layout, went to Wal Mart with Jill, went to Taco Bell, and came back. Today has been unproductive, but I got some much needed rest. Tomorrow will be work, work, work.

I miss my family so much. This has been the longest week of my life. I've never been away from them for this long. Maybe a few days here and there, but never anything like this. I haven't been away from Marty for any length of time except when we were first married and I lived in Weatherford and he was in Enid. Marty - I miss you and I love you and I can't wait to snuggle with you again! Give everyone kisses for me and know that I do miss you guys more than I can say.

Days 6 & 7 - Ladies & Gentlemen, We Have Lift Off!

Finally got a jury picked and both of the guys we really wanted are on it. The trial started yesterday and they called one witness and then today they called a very important one and we spent ALL day with them. It was a long day and SJ was ON! If you could high five people in the courtroom, I think Jill and I would have. There were some SMOOTH moves on our part. My job rocks. It is so cool to get to be working on a murder trial with the caliber of lawyer this man is. The judge is great. Every time we have a break or have a lull, he tells funny stories and talks about breaking out into song or something and he is so funny. He tries to make everyone feel comfortable during the tense moments and he is just cool as hell. This has been such an experience and I am grateful for it. We don't have to work tonight so Jill and I found a little local pub and ordered too many appetizers and ate a ton of peel & eat shrimp and had some beers and I took some medicine for my migraine and I am going to get to bed before 1 a.m and I can sleep all night. Back to work tomorrow, but the weekend won't be as crazy, thankfully. Anyway - I miss all you people out there in the real world. Carry on.

Day 5

Guess what we didn't do today? Get a jury. Another day full of voir dire. (That's questioning of potential jury members for you lay people, lol). BUT I am hopeful we'll have one by noon tomorrow and opening statements will be given in the afternoon. We worked on some things tonight and I have a few more things to do yet. I fell today - don't know how, but scraped my knee and ripped up my pantyhose. Lovely to be in court all day with a big hole in the knee of my hose. Had a good cheeseburger for dinner at a local cafe - my favorite kind :). Jill, the other attorney working on the case, and I have a lot in common and even though we had become good friends at work, we're bonding through this and it sucks because as soon as we get done with this trial she's moving to Phoenix. I guess things are less than wonderful at our office right now. I miss my family. I'm enjoying this opportunity but I'll be glad when things get back to normal and I pray that there will be an acquital at the end of all this.
One of the funny things is that the ADA is asking the jurors if they watch legal shows or read John Grisham books and he asks them if they believe all those things really happen. Someone today said they watched Boston Legal and he made a comment about how you know that's not real, right? And I was just thinking he's obviously never worked anywhere like our office and how the people in our office don't watch Boston Legal because it's too much like the office, lol. I keep thinking that if his job as a lawyer has never provided him with a moment like they have on TV, he's missing something and I'm glad I don't work in his office, lol. I'll take our Law & Disorder any day over being mundane and nonbook like. Anyway - everyone pray they don't strike the juror we really want to keep. Seriously!

Days 3 & 4

Not too much to report - still picking a jury. It resumes in the morning and hopefully we'll have one by the afternoon. I feel very disconnected from my normal life right now - kind of surreal. I'm learning a lot and getting to hear some great stories. I haven't turned on my TV at all since I've been here. Tonight has been quiet - I only have one small project tonight and then I can go to bed. Anyway - that's about it.

Trial Diary - Day 1

Let me start by saying that we have had somewhat of a drought here in Oklahoma for the last several months. There has been a burn ban across most of the state as wildfires ran rampant, destroying many acres of Oklahoma land. You can drive a few miles in about any direction and see the charred remains of crops and fields. It's been so dry that my hair has been crazier and unrulier than normal. We haven't seen rain in our part of the state in a very long time. We got some snow a while back, but it only lasted about a day and wasn't enough to help with the dryness. I said all that to say that for the last two days it's been raining. It's been so nice to have rain that no one seems to mind getting wet or cold, we're just happy to have it. BUT yeah, there's always a big but... I hate driving in the rain on the highway when it's the kind where you can't really see and it's all dark outside and all the other cars are splashing everywhere. It makes me very nervous to drive in the rain.

If you've ever ridden anywhere away from Enid with me, then you more than likely know that I also despise driving in places like Oklahoma City where the traffic is crazy and there are on ramps and off ramps and exits and all that crap. And you probably also know that I have no sense of direction and I get lost very easily. Now, knowing that I have no sense of direction, I go through anxiety issues whenever I have to drive somewhere. I once ended up in Kansas trying to get back to Enid from Oklahoma City. Yes, I really did. I missed the sign to turn and went right on to Kansas. Usually when I go to Oklahoma City, it's to see a friend and once I get there she has to tell me very explicit directions to anywhere we go. If someone else goes with me, I have them drive. I hate driving in Oklahoma City I end up with a tension headache and a sore neck and an upset stomach and I'm usually shaking by the time I get to my destination. I can spend the night in a haunted prison, but you make me drive in a big city and it freaks me totally out.

So today I head out to the trial in Altus which means I have to drive through Oklahoma City. Which means I was of course worried that I would screw up somewhere in the middle of that cluster and get lost and end up in Nebraska. So I was already worried about the going through Oklahoma City part and then it starts to rain. Not a nice spring rain like we'd been having at home, but more like a freakin' monsoon. Of course it is. The one day I of all people have to drive through Oklahoma City is the day out of like 6 months or more that it decides to freakin' rain like Noah's got a boat built somewhere. I almost hydroplaned twice. I had to drive slower than normal. It basically just sucked. And Altus is four hours from Enid, so this was not a short drive in a drizzle, either.

Anyway I get to the hotel and I am in Room 114. Nowhere near Jill or Mr. Jones. But I'm near the vending area so that's cool. Then I realize I am the only room in this area. The other rooms are a) Housekeeping and b) Laundry. I laid down on my bed for a minute when I got in there and I was lulled to sleep for a minute by the constant washer and dryer noises on the other side of my wall. Then there are the people somewhere near me that sound like they're having an after Motley Crue concert party or something in there. I feel a little like I'm in the servant's quarters. I go see Jill's room and there's some concern because her room connects to another one and Mr. Jones had specifically asked for non-connecting rooms because of the nature of our work. We're sitting there looking at the door that goes to the other room and we're thinking how convenient it would be for me to be in that room so we could work easier. So she picks up the phone and calls the front desk and proceeds to ask if there's any way we could switch rooms with that guy where I got the room that connected to hers and he could have my room. Turns out he's been here since January and will be here until May because he's in the Air Force and is stationed here for a few months. They say no, they won't ask him to move. So Jill decides she will ask him to move and she calls Mr. Jones to tell him the plan. He gives her the go ahead. So the next thing I know, she is taking her hair down and brushing it out and putting on lipstick so she can go talk to this guy. So we fluff up a bit and head next door. There's a really cute guy named Carlos staying there and Jill tells him we'll be working late nights and it will be loud and that we're here helping a fellow Air Force family out and that we could really use his room and then she tells him we'll pay him $100 cash for each week, so $200, if he'll switch rooms with me. He says sure. So we're switching rooms tomorrow at noon.

We went to tell Mr. Jones about Jill using her womanly wiles to get the guy to switch rooms and he was pleased that we got the room. I told him about my plan to get t-shirts made that said "Property of Jones, Otjen, Davis, Nixon, & Juhl". He laughed and said we should also get ones that say "I came to Altus for a murder trial and all I got was this stinkin' t-shirt." Tomorrow I find a t-shirt place

Then I set off to enjoy a tasty burger from Whataburger because we don't have one and it was pretty good. When I checked in they gave me two coupons for free beverages sodas or draught beers from the lounge. Jill & I took them in and each had a beer and then retired to our separate (until tomorrow) rooms for the night. So that's Day 1. I'm sure tomorrow will be filled with work type stuff and last minute preparations.

Day 2 - Sunday - I get up to go to breakfast with Jill and Stephen at Denny's. Then back to the hotel for some planning. We get our assignments and return to the rooms to work. Carlos calls and the hotel won't let him switch rooms, so I'm having to run to Jill's room any time I need something from the file. Wouldn't be so bad except it's freezing and windy and I have to go outside to get to her room. I woke up with a sore throat and then started with the congestion and it seems like a small fever. I got some DayQuil, some vitamin C, and some garlic tablets to try to fight it off.

Worked all day on various motions and stuff to file in the morning before they start jury selection. Went to dinner with Mr. Jones, Jill, and our jury consultant at Applebee's and came back to meet with Mr. Jones and Jill some more and finished up some work around 10:30 tonight. Then I headed to Wal Mart for NyQuil and orange juice and cough drops. I've been trying to catch up on emails and phone calls this evening and I am now going to take some NyQuil and go to bed.

There's an author that lives here in Altus that writes a series of stories about a town called Junebug, Oklahoma 70666 - Where Hell comes sweeping down the plains... His stuff is pretty entertaining and I am hoping to get a hold of him while I'm here to write about him for OPEN and see about maybe putting some of his stories as a series in the magazine. He teaches at the high school and I'm going to try to track him down while I'm here. Wish me luck :)

I also found out the Vernon is only 40 miles from here and they have two tattoo shops... SO I might have to go check that out... Nothing set in stone though so no freaking out. (Marty :)) I've wanted one for a long time and I know what I want, but I don't know if I'll go through with it or not.

My dad's best friend since he was a kid died this week and that really sucks. Lee was a great friend of our family and I've always liked him a lot. He was working on illustrating my Halloween story for me. I'm missing the funeral because I'm in Altus and as much as I hate funerals, I'm sorry I'm missing it. I'm sad for my dad because they were really close and have been best friends for years. He was only about 59ish. He will be missed.

Anyway - if I want to be worth a hoot tomorrow, I need to go to bed. More later...

Property Of...

I am now and for at least the next three weeks of my life the property of the law firm of Stephen Jones, kinda like when you join the Army. I'm thinking about getting one of those T-shirts, lol. This whole thing is getting a little daunting. Every time we talk about it they make it sound like it could be longer than we planned. I've never been away from Marty or the kids for more than a few days at a time, let alone two weeks. Can't hang out - got too much to do, but I needed a quick break. I was up til 4 this morning working on stuff and I am zapped, but the show must go on...

Enid Legal

Well. I don't even know if I can really convey the weirdness that is my job. I have likened it to Boston Legal before, but I think it might be even weirder than that. We have joked that we could have a reality show and call it Law and Disorder. My boss is an incredibly intelligent and interesting person. He expects the best from everyone that works here, as he should, he has a very huge reputation. He also has a bit of a temper when things don't go just right. Without going into the whole schmear, suffice it to say that on Tuesday we had a bit of a falling out over a document I prepared. He thought it was wrong, and I thought it was right because I used the form book to do it. After much consternation, he looked at where I got it and he found that the book was wrong, not me, and he apologized. Then yesterday he brought me flowers. Some people were bug eyed because it's rare to see an apology let alone something like flowers. They were like, Damn, he musta been really bad, lol. A conversation we had later yesterday went as follows:
"Did you like your flowers?"
"Yes, they were beautiful."
"I stopped at the cemetery and picked them up."
"Nice."
"Did you tell everyone today how much you like working here?"
"I tell people that every day."
"Why do you lie?"
Then later he swore he gave me a tape to do and we couldn't find it. Looked all over, called people on their cell phones, everything. Later he shows up with it and I ask where it was and he said, "On your desk" and I said, "Why do you lie?"
He said, "You were right yesterday. You were right today. If you're right tomorrow, you're fired."
You may not find this as amusing as I do. It's never a dull moment at work and unless you've witnessed it, you just won't get it. Even through the hard moments I love my job because I learn so much there. It is definitely the most interesting place I've ever worked. I've been working on helping them (the boss and another attorney) get ready for a big murder trial coming up that I will get to go assist with. It's out of town and we'll be gone about 11 days or so. I'm excited because it will be a great experience but it's also going to be a strain for me to be gone that long from my family. Anyway - that's why I haven't been saying much, I've been super busy at work.