Totally look the part

If you've been keeping up with my darling sister's blog, you'd know that her husband Michael is working at the US Attorney's office this summer here in SLC. Most of his duties revolve around research, however, a perk of the position is his chance to attend 'real live' trials and court cases. Mike came home yesterday and told us about his day in court. Taryn and I were intrigued and (since we have so much free time on our hands at the moment) decided to sit in on the trial the next day.

We strode boldly downtown to the courthouse and, when we got in the courtroom, wow! how fascinating! We saw everything from the judge, to the stenographer, to the full jury, the crazy "I'm representing myself" defendant, and even a few US Marshalls (the crazy defendants watchmen) who Mike said, "could seriously mess you up."

We heard a few witness statements, cross-examinations, and the closing arguments. I don't have enough time to blog about this case, but if you're interested, read here or here. Basically, this man robbed a bank because he was trying to raise money to enable Utah, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana to secede in order to create it's own "White motherland." This white-supremacist, anti-goverment man, who resembled a smaller, skinnier version of the monopoly guy, said some of the craziest things I've heard in a long time (especially live), the most annoying of which was his repeated use of the word "irregardless."

The jury decided a guilty verdict in a record 12 minutes.
Taryn and I had the most interesting time, and, while we were there, I kept envisioning the above picture, which I'm so glad I found. Behind Elle, you'll see Mike, Taryn, and Moi! :)