It pays to do your bailiff's homework!

So yesterday I spent most of the day observing (per usual) and in the afternoon I went to a trial that another intern, Jennifer, had been observing already for most of the day. Apparently, the bailiff in there had been bugging her, trying to get her to do his outline for him. The outline was for a speech that he had to deliver later that night for his communications class. She flat out refused, but later that afternoon when we ran into him another court room, I started asking questions about the outline and before I knew it he had his computer in my lap with his outline up and his speech up and had me working on it.

In reality, I didn't do much, I just read them both - he had already started the outline and was doing fine and the speech was entirely written. I was just curious. So I made a lame comment or two about how maybe he should stick this segment into that box on the outline (the outline was actually a template the professor had given them and he was expected to fill it in), and didn't actually do anything for him. (Which he blamed Jennifer for, entirely. He said that she was screwing everything up for him. ;>) The whole thing was just kinda entertaining and this morning when I ran into him, I asked him how it went.

It went well, apparently - he won the award for best speech in the class. So then we randomly started chatting about various other things and I mentioned how I went to the gas station this morning to get a soda b/c i'm exhausted! (haven't slept well for a couple of nights) It wasn't till I got into the gas station that I remembered that you can't bring liquids through security in juvenile court. So I was screwed.

Low and behold, apparently, in a back room that you need employee access (like the kind a bailiff has) to get to, the court reporters keep a big canteen of all sorts of food and drinks. JACKPOT! instant caffeine. I was soooo grateful, I might just spend the rest of my summer running around the court house seeing if there are any bailiffs who need their homework done for them. :)