Phil Spector Verdict Watch Day 7

8:39 am: Our train is just leaving the station. Today, we were able to get out the door on time (8:15 am), however, I was eating my breakfast in the car.

We went appliance shopping last night, with several issues of Consumer Reports in hand. Mr. Sprocket swore we would not get another GE washer. However, CR’s had rated this new GE second as well as a best buy in their most recent issue on washing machines. I wasn’t immediately sold on this model at first, because it has some sort of raised crest in the front of the washer. I wanted a completely flat surface across the front. The next best thing in our price range was a Samsung (sp?), but it was rated much father down the line. After going to several stores and looking at prices and models, we purchased the GE from Sears. The only problem is this model is selling so well, we can’t get a delivery for another two weeks. It will be Laundromat time tonight.

Shopping around the Internet last night, Mr. Sprocket found their may be a screen upgrade I can get for my iBook that is a “brighter” screen. He’s going to try to call a few places today.

An adorable little girl just got on the train with her father. She’s wearing pink Croc’s, black leggings with stars on them an olive quilted jacket and a green velvet dress. She doesn’t want to sit in her seat; she wants to hold onto the silver pole and spin around it. Her father pulls out his camera and takes her photo spinning around the pole. She’s a bit restless, sitting down then getting up to spin around the pole every other minute.

8:52 am: Vermont Sunset! We are a stop away from the halfway point. Some people are reading books or the morning paper, some are in conversation, and some have their eyes closed trying to get some last minute rest before they get to where they’re going. Once you’ve ridden the Red Line for a while, you can tell which station you are at just by glancing out the windows and looking at the floor. The patterns, materials and colors are different for each. For many stations, even the columns, seating and decor is different.

9:27 am: I'm finally inside the courtroom. We can hear a bit of noise coming from the jury room. I just got off the elevator on the 9th floor when the last of the jurors were clearing the 9th floor security station. I held back for a couple minutes until all of them had entered the hallway. They entered the courtroom around 9:20 am. I haven't heard a buzz yet and we have not been notified that they started before we entered. The AP reporter just showed up.

Answering a comment. I'm able to power my laptop because the courtroom has electric outlets along the back wall. I just plug it in. The WiFi is free.

9:40 am: There are a few other reporters here. A guy from City News, Gary from one of the major networks (I think NBC) and the AP reporter. Pat Kelly is beside me, working on her laptop keeping me honest for another day. The AP reporter is reading the paper and the reporters are discussing a bit of the news there.

9:42 am: Paul from CNN just arrived. I believe he has taken over for Lindy.

9:44 am: We now know why we had not heard the buzz. One of the jurors was late, Juror #1. Probably traffic problems. There was a hazardous spill on one of the MetroLink tracks, ouside the City of Orange, south of Los Angeles. That's why Linda from San Diego is late. Her train was rerouted to Riverside. She might be here in an hour. Hopefully, we will hear the buzz soon.

9:49 am: BUZZ! They've started deliberating. It's official. If deliberations go into tomorrow, Friday will only be 1/2 day.

9:50 am: AP reporter and the City News reporter take off. I forgot to mention that Dr. Adams is here waiting for a seat in 107. Ah. He tells me he doesn't think the Judge for 107, Pastor, is there yet. He was assured by Pastor's clerk that hearings would start right at 8:30 am, but here it is almost 10 am and he's waiting.

10:02 am: Sherri and Katie are here. They bring news, since I can't listen to any on the train. A young pitcher with the Anaheim Angels died in an auto accident last night. Nick Adenhart was 22 years old.

Answering a question. Mr. Sprocket is a whiz at all things mechanical. He is a tinkerer, and can fix anything. We will never have to have to hire a repair man. We've installed our own central air/heat system in this old house ourselves as well as a tankless water heating system. We've also upgraded the electric panel and rewired the entire house. Mr. Sprocket is usually not satisfied with they way things are built and he usually has to "modify" most things we buy.

Answering a question. I plan on taking a long break from the criminal court building once this case is finished.

10:14 am: Another case is being heard right now. I won't report on it because I don't want to get it all wrong again.

Answering some questions. Yes, I will be going back to sewing once this is over. I'm looking forward to it. No, I don't think it would be wise to head over to the jury room and stick my head in there. I'm sure I would be escorted out of the courtroom lol! From the show last night, I didn't learn much new. Most of what Ricardo talked about I had heard before.

Answering some questions. Punkin Pie was not called as a witness by the defense in the second trial. The reason is unknown.

10:41 am: Linda from San Diego finally rolls in. I believe her train was rerouted through Riverside. The AP reporter is chatting with (I believe) an attorney who came by to drop off some papers. Gary is on his laptop and Pat Kelly is still here beside me working away on her computer.

Answering some comments. Intimidation tactics by the defendant and his supporters. I will write more about this when the case is finished. Anakerie, when I see Dr. Adams again (he left to enter 107) I'll tell him

10:47 am: BUZZ! The jurors are taking a break.

Answering some comments. I am NOT requesting anyone donate to my expenses. If you feel of your own personal volition, that's fine but I am NOT making any requests whatsoever. A little bit about this courthouse. It's a 19 story building in the middle of downtown Los Angeles. There are quite a few courtrooms here. There are nearly 40 courthouses that jury assembly rooms in LA County alone. There are about 50 facilities, counting the warehouse and the archives. Pat Kelly from the PIO is going to try to get me some exact figures on the number of courtrooms in the building, etc. However, If every courtroom stayed late, think of all the staff that would have to work overtime, not to mention the security.

1057 am: Harriet Ryan from the LA Times dropped in to say hello check on the jury watch and then take off. I'm sure she's busy with lots of cases.

11:01 am: BUZZ! The jury is back on the job.

And Paul from CNN rolled back in.

Pat Kelly from the PIO give me some figures. You have to consider that we have over 10 million residents in Los Angeles County. 1.7 million cases are filed each year in LA County. 1 million of those are traffic related and then there are divorces, civil suits, probate matters. It's quite different than most other areas of the country. You have to also understand that for this courthouse, jurors can be pulled from as far as 20 miles away. Traffic in this city is horrendous. It takes me almost an hour to get here and I live 17 miles away. We had a juror late due to a traffic problem today. The major reason the courtrooms don't have jurors deliberate late is security and there is the issue of staffing and paying overtime. It's just not as realistic to do that as it would be in a smaller courthouse or city.

Here is a link to the Superior Court's annual reports where you can find all kinds of statistics. I recommend everyone pick the last annual report and take a look. In the Clara Shortridge Foltz Building alone, they tried 153 murders in a single year.

Please everybody, be respectful to each other in the comments section.

From the Court website, approximately 125,000 people go through the Shortridge Foltz building each month!

Answering a question. Cloey from Juror Thirteen verifed it for me this morning. The first jury deliberated 43 hours.

Answering a question. M. Kitty, Mr. Sprocket got a NORITZ tankless system. He says they're the best. We have hot water in about 10-15 seconds and turn it off at night.

Answering a question. If jurors had to work until 6:30 pm, most would not get home until 8:00 pm with our traffic.

Answering a question. Yes, the 43 hours is the total deliberated. I don't know at what the hours were when they reached their initial deadlock.

11:39 am: I see the AP reporter is working the crossword again and Paul is helping her. Katie and I are bored to tears. Linda from San Diego and Sherri are reading books. I ask Gary if he's ready to fall asleep, but he says no, he's still with us.

Personally, I think we need to give this jury a break. They've had SIX MONTHS of information to process. I don't think we are giving them credit for all the time and patience they've put into this trial. JMHO.

Answering a comment. Pat Kelly tells me that jurors get $15.00 a day. I am planning on branching out into making some cutsom baby quilts.

Time to clear the court! 11:52 am.

11:55 am BUZZ!*

12:06 pm I'm in the cafeteria, having lunch. (*When I was in the elevator bay, Pat Kelly was still in the courtroom and heard the buzz. She looked up at the clock to note the time and told me when she saw me at the elevators.)

Answering a comment. No, you can't buy beer or wine in the cafeteria. I'm sorry to those of you who tried to call into the Blog Talk Radio show last night. You can leave a comment to ask your question now, or you can send me an email. I do try to answer all my mail.

As I was leaving the courtroom, Pat Kelly and I were talking about what the jurors get paid. She said they don't even get paid for their first day of service. Wendy reminds us that the Spector jurors are paid by their employers. Pat Kelly says that the jurors get 34 cents a mile travel expenses. She also tells me that the Court system has tried to work with the surrounding employers to get companies to pay at least for two weeks of service. She indicated that the average trial is five days. If an employer does pay for service, then the money the employee would be paid is reverted to the employer.

Answering a comment. The purse was on her shoulder. The strap was twisted around and hooked over the front arm stanchion of the right side of the chair. Katfish! Big wave! I will be making blankets similar to the ones in this entry on my Sewing Blog. What will be different is the fabric selections. I bought a bunch of baby flannel on sale over the holidays. I am very behind on sewing. I'm working when I can on a repair of a duvet cover for a friend. I still have wheelchair bags to make and several projects of my own I hope to get started on soon.

Answering a comment. You should be able to put the "foot" back on yourself on your sewing machine. There should be a tiny repair kit with small screwdrivers with it. If you are still having problems, your local sewing store should be able to help you.

1:07 pm: I'm getting sleepy. I may have to get some caffeine to wake up. Heading back upstairs to the 9th floor to wait out the reopening of 106.

1:18 pm I get up on the 9th floor and find out that the Spector jury went home. Wendy peeked her head out of 106 and said, "Anyone waiting for the Spector trial, a juror went home sick." Linda from San Diego tells me the jury left at around 1:05 pm.

That's it for today. I have no idea about tomorrow.

3:24 pm: I'm finally home. Stopped off to do some much needed shopping. Right now we are collecting laundry to hit the (oh fun!) laundromat. Washer doesn't get delivered until the 22nd.

I will not know if they are going to be deliberating tomorrow until I get down to the courthouse. Yes, I plan on going. I will be on Talk Radio One tonight sometime after 9:00 pm.

Here is the unofficial time for today. I will get it confirmed with Wendy tomorrow morning to find out if by any chance they got back on the clock before they went home.

9:49 am start
10:47 am stop 58 Minutes
11:01 am start
11:55 am stop 54 Minutes

Tentative total time for today: 1 Hour, 52 Minutes.

Thank you everyone, for all your encouraging words of support. Lets hope for the juror feeling better tomorrow and deliberations continuing.