Not Exactly Court TV

It'll be a little slow today. They are making me work. As I type this, I'm sitting at a table with two prosecutors about to begin a DWI trial. It's also awkward as I have 32 potential jurors staring at us. But it'll be a short trial. One officer. No video. Makes it tough from the defendant's standpoint. Edit: Jury selected. Four women. Two men. Went about as well as could be expected. Edit: Officer's direct examination is over. Now lunch. It's hard to get a feel for this thing without the video. But when an officer says "he was intoxicated", it can cause some problems. Edit: And as eat my crummy microwave sandwich, I just heard on the news of a "rock spill" at 287 and 114, That sounds not-a-good . . . . Back to courthouse. Edit: Jury went out to deliberate at 3:35 p.m. Quick case. It went well but it's always a tossup. I hate this time. The waiting. My client is a good guy which makes it even more stressful. Edit: 4:37 p.m. No word yet. Not even a note. I really thought that if I was going to win this thing that it would be a quick verdict. I'm getting a little worried now. But you could try a DWI case to two different juries and get two different results. I argued to the jury that the lack of a videotape (which was admittedly the fault of the State) was enough to acquit my guy. The jury was forced to pass judgment on someone else, I told them, and wasn't provided the necessary tools to do their job. "You have a right to want the tape. But you also have the right to be a little angry for being put in this position." I meant it. Edit: 5:23 p.m. There is now a jury note, "We are not unanimous. What is the next step?" Judge releases jury for the night. Will resume at 9:00 p.m. -------------------------Wednesday-------------------------------- Edit: 8:50 a.m. Headed back to the courthouse. This will be a bit tense. Oftentimes a jury will announce it is hung, be sent home for the night, and then come back and have a verdict within 30 minutes. It's a strange phenomenon. If it ends up in a hung jury, it's kind of a hollow victory. Yeah, there's no conviction but the State can retry the case. Edit: 9:15 a.m. We've learned that they are deadlocked 4-2 (but we don't know which way they are leaning.) The judge read them a "dynamite charge" which only benefits the majority. Edit: 9:58 a.m. Another note: "Does the FST [field sobriety tests] prove intoxication?" The judge can only give them a generic response to that one which is neither yes or no. Frankly, that's an odd questions since a great majority of the defense was arguing that the standardized field sobriety tests are silly and don't prove a thing. Not sure what to think about that. Edit: 10:15 a.m. Wow. The jury has reached a verdict. Waiting. Edit: 10:25 a.m. Guilty. Disappointing. I wasn't very optimistic going in but felt pretty good during deliberations. Once again, disappointing. Edit: Noon. Can't end this post without saying congratulations to the County Attorney's Office and Decatur officer Delvon Campbell. Both did a good job. And Judge Melton Cude, as always, gave me a fair trial. That's all I can ask for.