I understand it's a jury trial, but the judge has a lot of power nonetheless. I never knew with a new trial it's common for it to be the same judge. From what I've read, it seems you can request a new judge but it may not happen.

I’m so glad it’s over! Funny, I’m the one that lives in Mass, and didn’t follow it at all! There was a recap after the NBC nightly news every night. D1 was fixated, and didn’t like the judge much either.
I’m scheduled for jury duty in September, it better be a quick one!

KR also has to now deal with a civil case filed by his estate.

Ladma I had jury duty last Thursday and was picked. It was very short (1/2 a day) and ended with a mistrial because defense counsel raised questions in her closing that were barred by motions in limine. We later found out it was the 2nd mistrial!

lad, I don't have a clue why but I've been called for jury duty more than anyone I know. I was on a jury 4 times, two civil and two criminal. Luckily, as far as jury duty goes, I am of the age that I am now permanently excused. I think I've done my civil duty.

I turn 70 in December, so my birthday is just a little too late to be deemed old enough to not have to serve. I’ve been called a few times, all but one were either canceled ahead of time , or I was sent home. The one I was the foreperson, it was a one day trial. Interesting process.

So, when we lived in Mass, in 1993 Beloved was called for jury duty, and I dutifully called the court (as a spouse could do, back in the day) and I said, yeah, we have a baby due that week, he needs to reschedule. And they were like of course, when in the future, and I surprised them by saying, anything available before? Which no one has ever said, so off he went at the local courthouse…and kept the jury there for three days in August over a simple drunk driving case, until his fellow jurors came round to his way of thinking, which was that yes, she was young and pretty and drunk! On the roads that we drove our babies around upon!

Lots of people try so hard to get out of jury duty. I don't get that. Being a potential or seated juror is so very important to how our justice system is supposed to work. It's appalling how many people have no idea how the judicial branch of our government operates. As a former "civics" instructor and one who assisted adult students studying for the US citizenship exam, maybe I'm biased... but the courts are likely the only direct experience we have with the government. Think about it. Parking tickets to felony cases, birth/marriage/death certificates to civil or family lawsuits...most of us have been, or have known someone who has been, involved in the courts.

And to me, the courts should be transparent, like the other branches of the government are. Local mainstream media no longer have "court watcher" columns in the newspapers, or segments on local news, so it's more important than ever to find reliable sources to keep an eye on how things are going in the courts. The Judicials have tremendous power over people, and the people have a right to see how things are going in their courts, from their district attorney's office (elected officials!) on up...

Streaming/broadcasting live court proceedings is trying to fill that void, so the public can see for themselves what is going on with the judiciary. I find it fascinating, and important, to follow trials of all sizes... from all over. I think it will catch on in more states, too. (If only the Feds would stream cases! LOL)

Anyhow.

In our state, ALL judges from magistrates up to our state Supreme Court justices face retention votes every few years, and yes, even Supreme Court justices have been "voted out." (And I knew her, kind of. She was a neighbor of my Outlaws. She was voted out for supporting an unpopular political viewpoint at the time, and for hosting an underage drinking party.) There was a lot of press about her, tho. Nowadays, there is no traditional press watching our judicial system players and participants like they did back then. It's up to the public to figure out a way to be informed so those retention votes mean something!

I have only been called to 3 juries. 1) I was dismissed because I worked for a health ins co. 2 ) I served as the alternate on a 4 day long case where the school bus hit a 1st grader running along side the bus yelling bye to his friends. 3) I was dismissed. I loved the experiences too.

I've only gotten called once--at the beginning of the COVID shutdown. Admittedly, I was kind of freaked out about being stuck in a room with (potentially) carriers. As a high risk person, I immediately called my doctor's office who wrote a letter to the court ON THE SAME DAY saying there's no way I should be in that setting. I waited my whole life to get called for duty, and that's how it went. Now I've aged out

I did have a rather varied experience with our justice system, though. When I was managing commercial properties we had a substantial break in and robbery at one of my buildings. The police arrested someone, and I had to testify before a grand jury. Let me tell you, testifying before a grand jury is not as grand as one might think. I went to the courthouse and was escorted into a small conference room with about 6 people and a DA. Got asked a bunch of questions by the DA and the jury members, and out I went. Suspect went to trial and was convicted. This is what happens when you break into a building with cameras and the major tenant is an international software company. Dolt.

Ohhh… They’re just now getting over the Karen read trial? And she was declared innocent but now there’s a civil case. So they haven’t determined how he was killed? Or is it everybody thinks she did it but there’s insufficient evidence? The only decisions I pay attention to are ones at the federal level. USA and Canada.

Serving in Maine is the worst system we have ever encountered. It is a 30 day sentence when you are called….and that is the minimum. Some days, you have to go in, other days not. You call a phone number every morning. If you are seated, it is for the duration of the trial, even if it exceeds your 30 days. And, i believe they can seat you more than once during your thirty day period. It is a system designed for seasonal workers, who have 8 weeks to make their money and then a slack season. Beloved served once, when we first moved here…his employer was not amused. they called him again, after we retired, and every time he was called, we already had plane tickets to go somewhere…and he kept saying, I am happy to serve, but you guys have to give me the choice of a 30 day window about 12 months out.

I just read over the summation of the problematic “evidence” in the trial. OMG. I’m glad she was declared innocent.

…

Meanwhile, here, in the fast lane, I managed to fall backwards onto asphalt right on my tail bone while weeding the bed beside the driveway. Yanking out weeds too enthusiastically… The roots let go suddenly and then suddenly… I was flat on my back. Ouch. Fortunately, it’s only bruised and not broken. Who knew that gardening was such a dangerous activity.🤦🏼‍♀️

Yeah, I am glad for her too. It was a sham investigation, with a clearly biased lead investigator who was fired for his "work" on this very case... The evidence was suspect, and there were way too many holes in the prosecution's theory of what happened, and the judge, who should have let the attorneys do their jobs, was obviously one-sided against the defendant all through both of the trials. What a nightmare for her.

We drove to the lake today, and had to take another detour. Road work season, y'know. Saw a couple of new barn quilts I'd never seen before!

I've been trying to snap the right pics of this place to show you guys... bc it makes me LOL every time we drive by it. Quite the interesting compound. It's always amused me for the family of "Saint Statuary" (not sure who it represents?) in the middle in front of the car. There is a regular white farm house on the right and a funky "dome" house thing on the left and the barn/shed/garage thing in the middle back, which was just recently outfitted with a slew of solar panels.

We joke that the house must be "hers" and the dome thing would be "his" (man cave? second home? does he sleep there? I really wanna know.) But the garage clearly belongs to the Statue Family. The solar panels are taking the Saints up a level--they're fully off the grid now-- incommunicado, isolated, reclusive? Or are they just keeping up with modernization?

The Statue family in a fuzzy zoom from a different shot. I snapped 5 pics at 65mph... focus was a bit sketchy. LOL

What do those saintly statues need with so much stored electricity? LOL

Duckie Alert!

This morning, at the Tree House, I noticed these odd inverted ant hill shapes outside the door to the dog yard. I had to look it up, but duh! It's been a long time since I've seen these!

And there were so many!

I'll give you a hint. Well the Duckie Alert should clue you in as to what makes these.

My theory… The domed place is some kind of gathering/meeting/worship space. It would appear to be Christian, but who knows… could be almost anything.

We were out to dinner tonight…in honor of the federal holiday. Everyone should have a federal holiday declared on their birthday. My gift from the universe was finding a third patch of Jack in the Pulpits as I was slaying bittersweet near the pond.
I have no idea how that happened.And Lia, at the nursery this morning, a pair of Malva sylvestris Zebrina jumped into my cart

I'm curious too of the houses...knock knock there. Hedge dog or snake or goffer?

It seems obvious, but may be only obvious to me!

Happy Birthday Fiss!!!

After trying ten times to get this page to load so I could just say that much, I'm gonna reboot my computer right now and troubleshoot for a while tonight, I guess. LOL

Oh, I can add (in case I can't fix this dumb laptop) those weird holes are made by doodlebugs! They have a more fierce name, but you can look them up that way, if you dare.... LOL

13 hours later than rred's comment above, I couldn't get the site to open for me just now. Had to try several times so I don't think it's her laptop. Just another day on the Houzz site... 😶

Happy happy, Fiss!🥂👏. I am growing a Zebrina but I think I should pick one up from the nursery. I’m growing one from seed and I am doubtful about it blooming this year.

The statues are of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Sacred Heart of Mary, and a couple of guardian angels. Fyi. The dome could be a chapel. One of our neighbors in St Charles bought a house in WS on Lake Michigan. It had a chapel. The house had a primary bdrm, a bunk rm for the 6 kids. Then the doctor husband left the wife for his nurse. That’s how my neighbor was able to buy the house. Oh, and it had a bomb shelter too. It was built in the ‘50s

Lad will know what I mean when I refer to all the “Mary on the half shell “ statuary in Somerville. They had little tiny streetcar suburb, multifamily, good immigrant stock neighborhoods, so you could only fit a “Mary on the half shell in the front garden, behind the beautiful chainlink fence. Think what they would have done with a whole farm! And there is a comedian who does a whole set on what he calls the two bedroom house. There’s the production chamber and the the kid’s bedroom!

Would someone like to analyze me? Why do I get irritated when asked to do things for my relatives, but have no problem following the ambulance that the neighbor’s wife was in, so the nearly blind neighbor can be at the hospital with her. And retrieving said patient from the hospital today, and making them some dinner tonight. Actually, it’s because the relatives don’t ask, they demand, and the neighbors have no expectations.

Thanks for talking this through with me.

Are they biennials, Lia?

My dad always called her Mary in a bathtub! Yes, we were raised Catholic, that was as irreverent as he could be. It was popular in the Portuguese neighborhood. ( we also have Portuguese ancestry)

Last tidbit on the Karen Reade, trial, the Norfolk county DA, who brought the same exact charges for the second trial, which now has become the most expensive OUI trial ever, has gone into hiding, he is not returning calls from the press.
Officer Procter, the lead investigator has been fired after his horrific behavior in the first trial. That unprofessional behavior has also called into question the discovery in all the other cases he was involved in, including the murder of Anna Walshe. She lived in the same neighborhood that I grew up in! The initial search for her began in the back yards i knew well. The details of that case are particularly gruesome

You are a kind person..and your family has taken advantage of that…make a little “sorry I can’t list” to use when needed..

This comment has absolutely nothing to do with anything recently discussed on this site - but the subject matter kind of cracked me up so I decided to share it.

I just finished reading an online article about the making of a movie (or something) about Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and it mentioned her Birkin bag. I've read about/heard about Birkin bags before but I honestly didn't know exactly what they looked like that made them so 'special' so I googled them and you won't believe what popped up. Craziness!!! These are the real prices! You've got to be kidding... The bags below are currently listed on eBay. There are probably more on that site but this is enough. I'm posting this just for your 'FYI'. Even if I sold my house to buy a Birkin bag I wouldn't have any money left to put into the bag! But now I know what a Birkin bag is...

Jay, there was a memoir written by someone who in the early days of the internet made a living selling on such things. It was a good read…

Bringing Home the Birkin. The kids and I both enjoyed it!

My internet seems to be flowing better today. LOL . Maybe bc it's 97º? Ugh.

I got the bug to get coffee table solution(s) this weekend for the LR here at the lake. First I went to the famous c-shop here and found this one immediately. Loved it in my mock up. It's shiny, has the rusty tones of the couch in it, and would have been perfect to me...

I put it in a mock up.

But he HATED IT. He insisted on a table that "I can put my feet under." No cylindrical tables...

Sigh....

I like the ottoman to put your feet up on and it's also a table at least it doesn't look like a coffee table

So, I went to a couple other cheep furniture outlet type places today, and came home with these bc they met his "seal of approval." He had very specific parameters... feet can go on or under (so nothing expensive or cylindrical) and light enough to move around EASILY.

My must-have was to get a round table(or two)... Tired of worrying about corners bruising my shins or my grand kids. LOL

To make up for the fact he refused to let me get that World Market table from the C-shop, he let me buy this tray to help brighten up the table we ended up with, and a new pillow to add to the collection on the very left side, behind the green one.

Brand new in the box tables in place. It is much easier to navigate around the seating areas now, and the second set of nesting coffee and end tables have a bonus!

Oh, and Batty is learning to hula dance! She is getting the memo about the rule of the rug! ROFL

Now I just need to find the other brown cushion for the papasan stool. I found a gray one we had, but there is another brown one SOMEWHERE at the other house... I just didn't really dig for it.

The end tables that came with the nesting set with the footstool are probably gonna be relocated to the den... or maybe the old end tables will go there and these will flank the blue couch. I have no more energy today. Building tables with little inadequate allen wrenches was enough for one day. LOL

I am with OH on the choice…much more neutral, for a space that really doesn’t need any more eye candy… lol

Happy first day of summer! The grandkids came out today with older son and daughter-in-law and it was the perfect day with sunshine and a brisk breeze off the water to keep the bugs away. A huge strawberry rhubarb crisp was the crowning touch.

My brother and his friend are here... they caught a good amount of fish this morning, all cleaned and in the freezer now, and are now relaxing out here on the patio. Since it's so dang hot, Otherhalf took G swimming twice today, and I rescue watered a few droopy things after we got home with the tables. I built the tables while they cleaned the fish. Then Bro took a shower and I gave him his annual buzz cut on the deck. LOL

We'll eat a late dinner bc of the heat, (we have two professional chefs here, plus Otherhalf, so I'm not involved in that plan/execution at all) and then just maybe we'll hang out in the LR for a bit and try out all the seating and drink-setting options! ROFL

I loved this. At a stop sign on my way home from the furniture store, I noticed a group of He77s Angels posing for their "vacation" group photo. Look at all those Harleys at that motel! ROFL . Isn't this the cutest??

I have a thing for nesting tables. I like those!

I do too. The color of the upholstery on the footstool is perfect on that side of the room, too. It kind of echoes the rusty couch, without being too matchy matchy.

I agree now that the tables are all in here that the woodtones aren't so bad. I was worried about "too much wood" but they blend in well with the stuff in the room...

They work well! It looks great and comfy too. Bet your brother loved driving his new wheels to the lake.

LOL He asked me how to turn off the AC in it yesterday. I was like "Really?" (Was it stuck or something?) So I went out and got in and turned it on. No. He just couldn't figure out the fan knob has a little "off" setting. You can turn it all the way "off." (He is sometimes just so clueless!) Maybe he needs his readers or new bifocals to learn the dashboard? I dunno... LOL

Then he told me a story of how he accidentally turned on the emergency/parking brake at a stoplight and it took him an entire green/yellow/red/green light cycle trying to figure out how to disengage it. LOLOL . People were honking at him, and further stressing him out, and he FINALLY realized there is a button that turns it on, and then you have to pull the lever out to disengage it. It's not in the most obvious location... it's kind of under and to the left of the steering wheel. He was trying to use a pedal for the e/p brake, and of course, there is no pedal.

I mean, to be fair, even I had trouble with that one. I rarely used the emergency/parking brake. LOL

To think, I used to share a vehicle with him! He and I shared our Scout all thru highschool and into college age a bit. That thing had a completely non-working gas gauge, right? The little float in it was 100% stuck, so you could not trust the gas level in it.

He would have his turn with it on a Friday night, and not tell me before I'd get it again Saturday night that he and his friends had gone to a drive-in movie 45 minutes away and drained the entire tank! I ran out of gas in that thing all. the. time.

Once, I ran out of gas driving on a semi busy 4 lane arterial road on my way to work. The power brakes, the power steering and everything went out, but LUCKY for me, I was pointed down a hill, and there was no oncoming traffic, so I HAULED that steering wheel hard left, across oncoming traffic lanes, and prayed. I managed to roll it into the nearest gas station... and made it to work only a little bit late. And pretty mad at Bro. LOL

Turns out my brother's friend is a good friend of one of my old work colleagues! And he used to work with Otherhalf's cousin a long time ago and still knows him too. We do live in a small world here...