Day in Court

With today being Election Day, I could have had the luxery of staying in my pjs and reading my book (Light on Snow by Anita Shreve). Instead, being the dutiful educator that I am, I convinced my principal to allow me and another teacher to attend a Reader's Theater workshop at the Peace Center. And, then, a couple of weeks ago, I witnessed an accident and it was assigned a 2:00 court date....today. So, I attended half of the workshop --- and I regret not being able to stay because it was FABULOUS --- and then headed off to Traffic Court.

If you've never been to Traffic Court, it is a book waiting to happen! All of the characters are there --- the cute, preppy girl with her distinguished looking dad, the family that looked like they hadn't bathed in a week, the middle-aged guy in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles, the teenager whose mom kept advising "don't admit to anything" (hmmmm.....), and then there was the case I was there for.......the driver being charged steps up to the judge's bench, listens to him recite the charges and promptly states, "Not guilty. I want a jury trial." I think silently, "Of course she does...I'm involved, right?" and then, at the officer's instructions, join him, the driver I am there to testify for and the other witness so that he can gather our information for subpenos and explain what will happen next. It looks like this will go to a jury trial in four to six months. The officer's words of encouragement, "It'll be a day off work. They have to let you go or they'll be in violation."