I was in court to argue a couple of plea agreements. The first was for a client who was in custody. The police brought him to court with three others, each handcuffed, and handcuffed to each other in a line. They sat in the jury box, and I sat there too, next to the client. He was charged with domestic violence, and the woman he'd hurt was there, and she'd changed her mind, no longer wanting the no-contact order. She giggled about the judge being concerned that this man had hurt her in front of their kid, which led the judge to give them some what for. But then the judge went and got all nice to the client by allowing him out of jail, so he wouldn't have to finish his sentence until late summer.
The second client pled to a second DUI, violating probation conditions of his first DUI, driving without valid driver's license, and had a ticket for not having insurance on his car. I did more negotiating on this one than I've done so far. The client wanted twice the usual year allowed to repay fines, and hoped his ticket might be dismissed (there was nothing to be done regarding the time he was sentenced to jail, nor the amount of the fine). I had to ask the judge for a moment since I hadn't been able to corner the district attorney beforehand. The DA wouldn't give another year on the fine, but then relented on the ticket. So that was good, since the client will have no trouble getting more time to pay the fine; I'm told extensions are routinely granted for that sort of thing.
That second client's driving, road-side alcohol test, and arrest were all videotaped. AK cops and courts seem to record everything as a matter of course. Some of those tapes we see/hear at the PD ("public defender"), and if you imagine television's "Cops," uncut, you maybe get the idea. But, then, there was this audio tape of an interrogation, during which the cop takes a break from questioning, goes to the bathroom... and the mic he's wearing captures the event, everything. You can't do that on television!!!!!!!!!!
What else... next to "my office" is the big boss' office. He just finished a murder trial that was front page in the Anchorage paper. Defended a man who'd killed his mother. Defendant told cops he'd done it, and his mom's dying declaration was that he'd done it. Defendant gets offer but decides to go to trial, now arguing someone else did it, and when the someone else started killing his mother, Defendant was so frightened that he ran from where he sat (next to her, on the couch, watching "Law & Order") to hide in the bathroom. Jury said he was guilty, though.
