Courtroom Junkie

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Written by Hannah Reich Berman

Thursday, 30 June 2011 10:32

As a courtroom-TV junkie, I am having the time of my life right now. Unfortunately, my unbridled enthusiasm for courtroom drama, which is currently providing me with some much-needed daily entertainment, comes at the expense of a two-and-a-half-year-old child. I am mesmerized by the trial of Casey Anthony, a young Florida woman accused of murdering a little girl back in June of 2008. The little girl in question was her daughter Caylee.

In 1994, when OJ Simpson was on trial for the murder of his wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman, I watched as much of the trial as possible. I was working at that time, and when I wasnâ€™t working I was shopping, running errands, and doing all of the mundane things that many housewives do. But, in late afternoon, the minute I walked through my front door I would head straight for the television and tune in to the live courtroom drama. It was my daily dose of excitement, and I loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, the end didnâ€™t turn out as I had hoped it would, and I was devastated because OJ walked. (Note: People who watch programs such as Law and Order, Cold Case, The Closer, Forensic Files, The Investigators, NCIS, and CSI love using attorney and detective jargon.)

Due to a recent bout of pneumonia, I am on temporary leave from my real-estate job. Due to the need for some R & R, Iâ€™m forced to take it easy, and, according to conventional wisdom, it will take several weeks to feel strong again. â€œTake it slow and donâ€™t push yourself,â€ one doctor told me. But he didnâ€™t have to tell me, because I feel so weak and tired that pushing myself isnâ€™t much of an option.

At any other time I would be filling these days by reading, sitting at my computer, and doing some television watching. Scratch the reading and forget about the computer; Iâ€™m spending my life glued to the television and the trial. Not since OJâ€™s trial 17 years ago have I been so entertained. This is not comedy nor is there any music or singing and dancing, so itâ€™s not lighthearted entertainment. Itâ€™s serious business; the woman is on trial for her life. But I must admit that it both entertains me and consumes me.

Unlike OJâ€™s trial, this hits closer to home. That might be because Casey Anthony never achieved celebrity status (at least she hadnâ€™t until now). And her family is very much involved in this case, which basically means that theyâ€™re ordinary folks, just like you and me. Well, maybe theyâ€™re not so ordinary, because if one pays attention to the testimony it becomes patently obvious that this is one very dysfunctional family. Nevertheless, theyâ€™re ordinary people and they could be anyoneâ€™s next-door neighbors. Thatâ€™s part of the attraction, in addition to which the tragedy of the childâ€™s death provides the human-interest angle.

But Iâ€™m not so sure of myself this time. Back when OJ was being grilled, I was (and still am) convinced that the former football hero offed (more police jargon) two innocent people. But in this case, itâ€™s hard to tell exactly what went down. Did Casey Anthony intentionally kill her own child, or was it an accident? Did the child drown, as the defense claims, or did she die of an overdose of chloroform, which Casey routinely administered in order to get the tot to sleep so that she could go out and party with friends?

It has been established by both the prosecution and the defense attorneys that the defendant is a pathological liar; but does that make her a cold-blooded killer? It has also been shown that her behavior after her childâ€™s death was unlike anything one might expect from a grieving mother. But does that make her a killer?

Is she simply a pathological liar, or is she a sociopath? Or maybe sheâ€™s a psychopath? It would be my pleasure to explain here the difference between the two conditions, but Iâ€™m unable to do so because, despite having read about the disorders, I donâ€™t see much of a difference in the symptomatology, which means that I donâ€™t totally understand what Iâ€™ve read. The only thing that is clear is that the sociopath tends to be nervous and easily agitated, is unable to hold down jobs, and usually lives on the fringes of society; while the psychopath is likely to have a charming personality, is manipulative, and often gains peopleâ€™s trust. The rest of it is confusing to me.

Having long ago willingly confessed that Iâ€™m a person who vacillates, I have no shame in admitting that I revise my opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant with the testimony of each new witness. Normally I confuse others with my inability to make a decision and stick with it, but now itâ€™s gotten to the point where Iâ€™m confusing myself! A life hangs in the balance here, and if that isnâ€™t cause to be open to everything, what is? On the other hand, Iâ€™m not on the jury, so what I think or what I decide doesnâ€™t make a difference.

Court is normally in session Monday through Friday, but last Friday I learned that the judge declared that court would be in session on Saturday. I was so disappointed about having to miss the Shabbos session. On Sunday, however, I learned that the Saturday session never happened. There was a problem that caused the judge to cancel court and send everyone home until Monday. I was thrilled that I didnâ€™t miss anything, but I doubt that the sequestered jurors saw it that way, as they were stuck in their hotel rooms with nothing to do for 48 hours. Hopefully someone got up a mah-jongg game. I would have.

Court resumed Monday morning, and for one heart-stopping moment it appeared that the trial might be halted. The judge had canceled the Saturday session because he wanted the defendant to have a competency testing. He appointed three professionalsâ€”a psychologist, a forensic psychologist, and a psychiatristâ€”to interview her and render an opinion. I held my breath as I waited for him to make the report. She was judged to be competent and the trial will resume.

As of this writing, the prosecution has long since rested its case and the defense attorneys are getting ready to wrap up theirs. Next comes the rebuttal part of the trial, which will be followed by the summations. So it appears that it wonâ€™t be long before the start of jury deliberations.

And where am I in all this? Iâ€™m hoping that things go my way. While I desperately want to feel stronger as soon as possible and get back to my normal routine, that would mean spending most of the day out of my house, and I donâ€™t want to miss a minute of the conclusion of this trial. Hopefully, Iâ€™ll feel better at the exact moment the trial concludes! Once the jury goes into deliberations, I donâ€™t need to watch any longer. I would be fine with hearing the verdict when it comes over the airwaves on my car radio or wherever I happen to be.

I certainly hope everyone involved will take my recovery schedule into consideration.

Hannah Berman lives in Woodmere and is a licensed real-estate broker associated with Marjorie Hausman Realty. She can be reached at Savtahannah@aol.com or 516-902-3733.