Keeping Busy

New Bern, NC


My readers know me best as a sailing cruiser.  But I'm also a retired guy; in many respects no different than other retired guys.   I have a lot of time on my hands.   My preference is to spend most of that time in some kind of intellectual pursuit.

I'm a news junkie.   I spend 30-60 minutes per day studying theoretical physics.  I read lots of stuff.  I listen to lectures and debates and oral arguments and so on in audio and video.  I'm an entertainment fan, series like Sopranos, Damages, Good Wife, and Breaking Bad really turn me on.  One experience I never had was seeing a jury trial.  I tried several times before to see a trial but it never worked out.

This week I connected.   I spent all day yesterday and today in the DWI/Child Abuse/Reckless driving trial of a man who was mayor of New Bern at the time of his arrest.   It is a doozy of a trial.  They trucked in a jury from another county (first time in NC history), a judge from a third county, and a special prosecutor who appears to be NC's top gun in DWI matters.  The defense attoryey also appears to be the state's top gun on DWI defense.  Wow.

Talking with locals at the marina, I learned that they think that the old guard of New Bern is out to get the mayor, and that the whole thing is conspiracy to frame him.  Double wow.

So what's my impression so far?  I'd rather wait until the end of the trial to say because I haven't heard the heart of the defense case yet.  But I've already been surprised by legal tricks, surprises, and twists, legal wrangling, and dramatic testimony that make me feel that I could be watching an episode of The Good Wife.   Like I said, a doozy of a trial. It may last the rest of the week.
 
News story here.