Order in the Court, Round 2

Give 'em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle dazzle 'em
--Billy Flynn, Chicago

A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to the second division appellate court in Brooklyn (for the full story on that, see here.) Yesterday we returned, as this session was to decide whether Governor Paterson has the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor, or whether this violates the state constitution. Big doings. No judgments have been made as of yet, but here's what I can tell you:
1.) I know more about the state constitution than I ever thought I would, particularly Article 4, Section 6, and Sections 41-43. Also, words such as perform, exert, and fill take on a picky level of specificity and importance sometimes.
2.) Briefs of Amicus curiae are actually pretty interesting. Literally, Amicus curiae means "friend of the court" and are a bit like recommendation letters, whereby unions or individuals submit letters of support for the plaintiffs or defendants. Since my contact is a DA for the senators suing Paterson, the Amicus brief I read detailed how Paterson's actions are unconstitutional. In this case, the authors were four constitutional law scholars and professors, one of whom was the ex-mayor of my hometown, as well as being the ex-lieutenant governor himself. Western NYers--we're everywhere!
3.) The room where all the lawyers hang out before entering the courtroom is pretty spiffy. It looks like a nice, wood-paneled, glossy library, but everyone is either huddled around tables having whispered conferences, or pacing around.
4.) Courts are glorified circuses--especially when TV cameras are involved! The lawyer for the Republicans made an ending speech straight out of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, or similar. It was totally over the top, and I kept expecting Thomas Jefferson to blast through the wall. He also made a joke about Governor Paterson and Caligula, which I enjoyed. One of the judges also made a speech involving phrases like "Utopian meritocracy," which was great.
5.) I would be a horrible legal counsel. I thought about going into art law for about .3 seconds my freshman year of college, but watching someone get grilled (and I do mean grilled) by four judges is nervewracking. I prefer to remain the incongruous bystander with the black dress pants which always seem to be covered with cat hair, no matter how often I wash them. I do love yellow legal pads, though.
And here is a lovely picture of some shredded documents being disposed of outside the courthouse. The fact that I even took this picture makes me feel like a private investigator.