On Friday, Joe and I visited the court and met with First Session Clerk Richie Saitta and Assistant Court Clerk John Dalton. Richie ran us through his usual day — he’s a kind of air-traffic controller between the judge, the lawyers, the defendants, the court officers and the probation officers as they run through arraignments — all at a lightning-quick speed. He cajoles, he heckles, he’s stern, he’s joking — it’s no wonder that court employees said that our live video feed would turn into The Richie Saitta Show. My head was spinning. We decided we’d need to spend more time in court even just to figure out what he’s doing.

When I explain my new job to people, eyes tend to glaze over as they express polite interest. Or, as my dad put it, “A live video feed of a courtroom – that sounds incredibly boring. I’d never watch it!” (Other people give me a skeptical look as they question the value of exposing people’s either embarrassing or reputation-damaging court appearances. That’s a whole different issue.)

But I’ve found spending time in the courtroom to be riveting. Every person who comes to court has a story and what happens in court on that day will have an incredible impact on their life. Some look as mystified as I am at the speed of what’s happening and the jargon being thrown their way. Others look like they know the drill all too well.

John Dalton gave us good suggestions about concerns we could address at the all-court meeting, one of which was to convene a group of representatives from different areas of the court and check in with them from time to time so we’re getting regular feedback. Most importantly, he suggested that we make ourselves a consistent presence at the court. We have office space there now but we’re a bit hamstrung without our computers and WiFi-enabled Droid Incrrrrredible. So we’ll start spending more time down there.

The only space they had for us is in the basement — we walk through the clerk’s section of the office, through the archive room stacked to the ceiling with folders, down a spiral staircase and into a pale pink room lined with photos of flora and fauna of exotic places, taken by a court employee who’s travelled the world for years. Ellen, the audio-video specialist, has her office next to ours. I was telling her that I’m still finding it exciting to sit in the courtroom and watch proceedings and she said to enjoy it before it turns into just another job. I expect I’ll be numb to all of it after a year, but for now, I’m still on the edge of my seat.

One Response to “Almost as gripping as Law & Order”

1. eileen stoller says:

   May 16, 2011 at 1:59 pm

   lOVE WATCHING THE COURT PROCESS AS ALL WE HAD BEFORE WAS jUDGE JUDY….
   i AM SURPRISED THAT MOST JUDGES DON’T COMMENT/ENCOUARGE DEFENDENTS JUST PROCESS THEM THROUGH..
   mR. MINES NEEDS TO SPEAK UP WEN ADDRESSING THE COURT AS HE APPEARS TO BE MUMBLNG….