It's the thought that counts...

I just received a phone call from the District Court where I have three Preliminary Hearings scheduled tomorrow. They were calling to advise me the two for the coworkers have been continued, which is a fancy word for postponed. I have been told that this can be due to a variety of reasons, including not being able to afford a lawyer, the public defender refuses to represent the defendant due to the circumstances of the case, or the defendant conveniently admits themselves into a rehab...not only too busy for the hearing, but providing a defense for their case at the same time.

Last month, I arrived for court ten minutes early. I then have to sign in with the secretary, then take a seat in the waiting room until a police officer comes out and rescues me from the room filled with defendants....some there because of me. This isn't the most comfortable situation to be in, trust me. You not only have the defendant looking at you, you also have their families looking at you. At the very least, they are studying me for the next time they arrive in my store, to .... shop of course. So, this certain day I arrived early, hoped for an early rescue from the waiting room, but instead, sat in my chair from 850am until 130pm. I would say every 15 to 20 minutes I waved, smiled, nodded or shook hands with various police officers as they moved through the room, and disappeared behind the "Authorized Personnel" door. Not one thought to invite me behind the door.

During this stay in the court waiting room, I observed some of the world's not-so-elite, and the Defense Attorneys who thought they were the world's elite. What a brief education that became. By the third or fourth hour, I didn't want to leave. It was rivetting stuff. The details of this experience will have to wait for a later entry, but trust me when I say, I seriously considered writing a script for a sitcom centered around those folks.

Anyway, when the full waiting room dwindled down to four of us, and through my time with them I had learned that two of the four were codefendants in a fraudulent prescription hearing, and the other man was a witness against them, I finally walked back to the counter to inquire about the status of my hearing. The same lady who signed me in and checked my name next to the hearing time walked back to the window. It took her ten seconds to realize she forgot to tell me my hearing was continued. In other words, my hearing wasn't going to happen today, and in fact, was resecheduled the day before! I didn't have to be there at all...

So, today I get a phone call. A courtesy call if you will. Very friendly outgoing female voice on the other end of the phone thinking she is doing us all a favor. "Saving me a trip" as she put it.

Unfortunately, the day they decide to notify me of a continuance, I have to be there for a third case anyway. Bald guy with the back pack gets his day in court tomorrow as well, and I am scheduled to be in that waiting room again anyway.

That is, until he decides he needs rehab as well.
No wonder no officer rescued me, none of them knew why I was there!