Judge McGinnis has been on the bench for a few years. I've been in his courtroom several times and let me tell you: this guy runs a tight ship. This trial has been a marathon sprint. Everyone has been complaining about the benches being so hard. Randy Ashauer's mom brought a cushion to sit on late last week. The days in court have been long, starting at 8:15 and going as long as 6:30 p.m. So, sitting on a wood bench can be very uncomfortable. Also, we haven't had a lot of breaks. Usually, we get a 15 minute break in the morning and one in the afternoon, along with an hour lunch break. During the Avery trial, we had a lot of really long breaks. But, not in this case.
Judge McGinnis is very serious -- bordering on intense. However, he's been very accomodating to the media all week. We have seen a different side to him, though. He's very funny! He's cracked several jokes that elicited laughs from not only the media and jurors, but members of the audience. He's very deadpan but then he starts laughing. It's always nice to have a judge who has a good sense of humor. You need it when covering things as serious as this case. There have been many brief moments of what I call "courtroom levity" thanks to Judge McGinnis and Mary Lou Robinson. WIth all of their bickering back and forth, they've made us laugh a bit, too.
