Tuesdays are cheap trial night

Saturday a.m., as of right now this Harry Potter book is circling closer to my doorstep. No doubt the postal worker will be somewhat reluctant to hand it over, "Certainly this book isn't for you?" To which I will proudly retort, "I'm a law student, thank you ... yes it is."

The book has actually become quite a legal hot topic. Last week's breach featured hilariously on The Daily Show, where Jon Stewart discussed the injunction handed down by the B.C. Supreme Court, or what he calls, the "least busy court in the world!"



I'm sort of confused myself. Consider the Air India trial: nearly 20 years late, taking over 2 years, at a cost of $130 million. But when children display the temerity to want to read, we put lawyers immediately into action and bar those kids from even reading one word. The cost of this trial? Insignificant compared to the free advertising.

The segment reminded me of our field trip to the downtown courthouse in our first month at law school. Organizers gave us fresh-faced law students a schedule of all the hearings that day. It was sort of like going to a movie theatre and deciding what to see: "Hmm, we have manslaughter at 1:30, but I'm not really in the mood for that. Oh, here we have a traffic violation at 2:00, that's a bit more lighthearted fare. Ooh, I liked this accused's last trial, and he's basically playing the same loser."

Actually, no trial proves that exciting to watch. For every star witness, there is a wealth of discovery motions, and endless pre-trial rigamarole. Murder trials are not all bloody knives and theatrical prosecutors. In fact, most trials are like watching golf. As you sit in on one, you wonder how these "professionals" are paid so much, and any time you go to speak you're shushed into the background.

Hey, that metaphor turned out pretty well. I was just looking for a half-decent segway to link to this latest awesome Tiger Woods commercial.

What's that I hear? Doorbell!