A Week in the Life: Friday

The only thing I have to do Friday is cover a 10 minute bond hearing for a buddy in the City of Pattersonburg. I don't usually go to Pattersonburg, so it's a bit of an adventure.

I get there at 10:30 and first go to the wrong courthouse (JDR). After I figure that out I get to the right building and go in back to tell Defendant what we're doing for the bond hearing. Along with about 6 other defendants, he's got something like 4 robbery charges, 6 illegal gun charges, and a couple abductions; however, there are serious flaws in the prosecutor's case so the court has been setting bonds between $5,000-30,000.

Pattersonburg has everybody in a cell together. Defendant has to walk up to the bars and talk with me. I hate this kind of setup because (1) everyone in the cell strains to hear your conversation and (2) there is always some yahoo in the cell who is quite willing to voice his opinion that the attorney is full of crud and selling Defendant down the river. It doesn't matter too much because, with the help of the local PD office's investigator, the prosecutor agrees to a $5,000 bond. Defendant's mother is in the courtroom during the bond hearing, but I don't point her out to the judge because the judge had a pretrial hearing for her 15 minutes before Defendant's bond hearing. The bond hearing goes smoothly. The only gripe I have is that the case is called 2 hours after the time it is set and I get to spend most of that time just twiddling my thumbs.

Ah, the joys of Pattersonburg courts. There's a reason I don't practice out there too often.

And thus ends Friday.