Little Rock, AR
Today started out like a lot of mine, rushing around so I’m not late for an appointment. I had set the alarm on my cell phone to go off at 7:30. At 7:44 I woke up from a weird dream where my old roommate Mike and I were hosting a wildly successful party. For some reason my date was the singer Mya. Everyone was all dressed up but we had just run out of beer and were trying to figure out what to do. Then I woke up. I don’t know what happened with the beer or my date.
I jumped out of bed. As I said yesterday, I’m staying in my old house from college. I stayed at Lefever for over 2 years. Because of unforeseen circumstances with one of the current roomies, I have my old room back. Weird.
I rushed around and showered up in the newly renovated tub. I shaved and tried to figure out what to wear. I’ve been shorts and sandals for a long time, so pants and shoes did not feel great. But I had to be in court by 9 for opening arguments so I put on the pants and a green short sleeve button down. I even tucked it in.
I arrived with the help of a cell phone walk in by Robin (thanks) just in time. My friend who set this up, Jeff, told me his Aunt was judge. I didn’t realize who she was though. I met Robin and she showed me into the court room. She told me there would be 2 cases being heard today. I was excited to see what would be said. I was also excited because they weren’t talking about me.
I sat down and,”All rise, court is now in session.” We sat and watched as the judges walked in. In came the State Supreme Court of Arkansas. In the middle was Betty Dickey, the Chief Justice and my interview. I then got nervous. I was set to interview the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas. I could think about much other than, “Wow.” Robin was very nice and set me at ease. I listened to 2 cases and won’t go into detail because they have not been decided yet. When it comes out I will give you my rulings.
I listened to the first case and in recess I met Chief Justice Dickey’s Clerk. She was a girl about my age and as Robin introduced Jennifer to me I couldn’t help think that I knew her. I went to college here so I knew more people than most cities I’m in, but I couldn’t place it. We went back into court and it hit me. She was a former girlfriend to one of my fraternity brothers. I knew I knew her.
After court Robin asked if I’d like to join her and Jennifer for lunch. I agreed and they said we were going to a place they like, Cheers. Sweet. Cheers was one of the places I had to go check out whiles I was back. Even cooler was that Jennifer had a drink named after her on the menu.
I had a roast beef sandwich and I learned more about them. Jennifer filled me in on some familiar names that I hope to see while here. Robin talked about a trip she took over the summer where she just packed up one day and went to work at a resort in Colorado. Very cool.
After lunch we went back to the justice building. The judges were in session, so I sat down and read the briefs on the two cases I had watched/listened to. I took notes and formulated opinions. I think both of these cases will be precedent setters.
As I sat in the courtroom in the morning I went back to a class from my writing days. It talked about Plato and Aristotle and oratory and persuasion. My memory might not be great, but sitting there sent me back in time to the days when oratory was a sport. With my athletics background I could see what a rush it would be to get prepared to do battle in front of the court. Just when I though a lawyer was doing well, one of the justice’s would come up with a killer question. It was a roller coaster. You need to be mentally powerful for that line of work. And you need to be prepared. Anyway, it was awesome to sit and watch. Time was transcended.
The job of a lawyer is tough. The job of a judge is even harder. We all have opinions about things. A judge has to be impartial and think about so many details and angles. “What was ruled before? What will changing it mean? What will…”
After court, lunch, my research, and a tour, it was time to meet the Chief Justice. She happens to be the first woman to hold that position in Arkansas. As comfortable as Robin and Jennifer made me, I was still nervous walking in to her office. She set me at ease by telling me about some of my journal entries. How cool was that? She had read my website.
From what Robin and Jennifer said, she gets a lot of requests for people to interview her. That made me more nervous, but as I said, it wore off quickly. She was great and talked about Jeff and her life. She has done some great things and won some great cases.
I left with having one of the best days so far. I sat in on court. I tried my hand by formulating my opinions. I saw a friend from a long time ago. And I made a few more new friends. I’m not sure if I am the best fit for a judge or lawyer. But I can tell you that the system is not all what you see on TV and the movies. This view was even better.