I am back from the hearing.
It was a docket.
Pertinent logistical information:
Pre-trial hearings are rescheduled for the 2nd.
It will be a two day jury trial.
When I entered the Division III Courtroom, II West, David Brian Muscato was sitting in the front of the three row peanut gallery, on the left hand side, sitting as close to the isle as he could. Muscato wore a dark red rib-knitted sweater with a larger dark shirt on underneath and black work pants, both of his shirts completely untucked. It would seem Muscato had no inclination towards even attempting to dress nicely for his own hearing. A grimy pink hairtie ties back what is left of his greasy, dark, greying hair. He wears dark red womens glasses that look extremely feminine on his fat, stubble covered face.
Muscato has an interesting self-soothing mechanism of twirling what is left of his greasy, dark, greying hair between his fat phalanges. His hands appear to be unwashed, a feat, and his nails have grime under them. He is visibly unshowered. I wasn't close enough to him to pick up on a smell.
The peanut gallery was stocked for the docket. Most people there were just there for family.
Judge Craine is much older than he appears in his photos (see my avatar). Apparently men that look that gruff and masculine age into Mall Santas. Craine kept his white beard trimmed, neat, and close to his pink face.
Most of the morning was spent running through the docket, and trying to sort out small discrepancies. Craine moves extremely quickly, and I felt bad for the poor stenographer. Craine has an extremely low tolerance for bullshit. A defendant that had teleconferenced in from the Jail said that he couldn't make it to one of his hearings because his mother had died. Craine damn near smiled as he said, "Well, you still have to go to court."
Craine was addressing the peanut gallery, searching for his next victim to move through the process of the court, and Muscato offered his small, meek voice, asking if the Judge was looking for Adam Dowling. The Judge was not -- Dowling was said to be in a conference call of some court for another matter that he was involved in.
Someone exited the well of the court, and the swinging doors of the entrance vestibule continued to swing back and forth on their hinge. Muscato leaned forward, and stopped the vestibule doors from swinging.
9:37, whispering of Dowling's name from the well of the court.
9:38, Dave says he thinks Dowling is in a video call.
9:41, Adam Dowling arrives, carrying with him a large stack of manilla folders. Apparently he prefers to do his work analog. He pulls a female asian legal assistant or officer of the court, unsure as to which, out into the hallway, and speaks to her briefly, before coming back into the court to represent some poor schmuck who was teleconferencing from the Boone County Jail. At this point it becomes apparent that Dowling is not a public defender, he is a gun for hire.
9:48, Dowling approaches the Bench with Muscato, announced before the Court as Danielle. Craine bigotedly does not seem to register the weight of having a trans woman civil rights activist in his presence.
Muscato stands there silently, looking greasy, unwashed, and out of place.
Craine and Dowling begin to talk logistics, Craine brings up the Defense's motion for continuance. They talk about the reasoning as to why such a request was made. Dowling talks about the volume of discovery dumped into the case, the discovery was dumped early November.
"What was it?" Craine asks, squinting at Dowling.
Dowling mentions that it's a lot of video and audio footage, and the prosecution voices that that is not exactly the case. Craine turns towards the prosecution and asks them whats going on, and the prosecution says that the volume of the discovery stemmed from a dump of the "Defendant's online postings,"
Dowling speaks up and says that there was body-cam footage and audio recordings of events in the discovery deposited into the case. The prosecution doesn't deny this, they don't appear to remember what all was in the discovery that they deposited.
Craine posits that further logistical maneuvering is necessary while the parties of the case sort out their fucking mess, and resets pre-trial motions for December 2nd, at 9:00 AM, if i remember correctly.
The parties are dismissed, and Dowling leaves the courtroom. David Brian Muscato follows shortly thereafter.