Attending Oral Arguments

Yesterday I lived some lawyers' dream: I stepped out of a courtroom and confronted a wall of reporters and cameras. They weren't there to see me. The latest of the West Memphis Three's many appeals was argued before the Arkansas Supreme Court yesterday, and my externship got me a seat in the gallery. The attorneys for both sides brought their A game, so it was interesting stuff (the webcast is archived here), but the borderline party atmosphere outside the courtroom felt a little ghoulish. The press blitz lasted about half the day, but security did a good job of insulating court employees. I never had to come within a hundred feet of a reporter.