I Went to Court!

You may or may not know that I am a bit of a crime geek. Back when I made the decision to take a photography class at Lakeland College, I was deciding on whether or not to take a Criminal Science course instead. Oh so close to becoming a police officer or a detective. (insert daydreaming emoji here)

Just last month I was asked by an attorney friend if I would like to photograph "Covid Court". I thought, "Are people suing over Covid already?". What he meant was to photograph court session(s) while social distancing and masking wearing are enforced. Lemme think... YES! The date was set for June 9th. I was told that it may change because well, that's the nature of the beast. Court dates change regularly.

That morning I called to make sure everything was still on. It was. Yay! I arrived thirty minutes early to scope the lighting and where I was to be stationed. As I walked into the Cumberland County Courthouse, the nicest people greeted me and gave me permission to move about so I can get the shots I wanted.

I met the Honorable Judge Braden, security guard Terry, Jill the court reporter, and many others. Everyone there gave me permission to photograph them as they understood this is history in the making. The only person who did not was the witness. I reassured her that if she was in any photographs that she would be blurred out and I gave her my card just in case she had any questions. The criminal seemed to be happy to allow me to photograph him though. As he was lead into the courtroom, I noticed he looked for the witness and locked his eyes on her.  I was not briefed on any details so, that only made my mind race in speculation to the nature of the case.

We weren't there very long however, case will resume at a later date. I was invited to come back. Perhaps I can photograph the outcome. This shoot was a real dream come true for me.

By the way, other than one quick wedding, I have never been in court.