It was a full day in court today. We were called into court bang on 10am, and almost lost our lunch break as we ended the morning session late at 1.15pm, on the sufferance of one of the expert witnesses. It is a little known fillip of the judicial process in the Crown courts that any morning session that can't reasonably be stopped for lunch by 1.30pm - due to late running or prior commitments - runs straight on into the afternoon session, and everyone involved just has to hope they don't faint as the day wears on!
Unlike yesterday, when we were simply told to ensure that our mobile phones were turned off, we were asked to hand them in today, and they were locked away in a little wall safe in the jury room. I have no idea why the change in procedure; perhaps the omission yesterday was due to time constraints. Otherwise, it was more of the same as yesterday. My fellow jurors commented on the length of the morning session as we went down to lunch, which puzzled me a little, as we had only been in session for just over 3 hours. Surely that isn't a particularly long period of time to sit still and concentrate? I, for one, found the whole affair too fascinating to notice the time pass.
The afternoon session ran much shorter, as there were prior appointments to be kept by the judge and barristers, and we were happily dismissed at 3.30pm, only having to return tomorrow at 10.30am; a most reasonable hour! The way the trial is going, it looks like we'll probably enter deliberation tomorrow, but how long it then takes us to reach a verdict is anyone's guess. Hopefully I'll have something truly interesting to write this time tomorrow evening.
Note to self: have some breakfast tomorrow. Having the entire court stop and look your way as the rumbling of your - admittedly anxious rather than empty - stomach echoes through the room is less than pleasant.
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