Judge Cahill needs to be replaced

[Ocelot II]

10. It's a great opportunity for the public to see how trials really work.

My dad was a lawyer (as was I), and I remember how when I was a kid we'd watch Perry Mason on tv and Dad would yell at the tv, "No! It doesn't work that way! That would never happen!" and then deliver a dissertation about how you cross-examine a witness and what constitutes hearsay. Perry Mason was an extreme example of dramatic license in the depiction of trials, but even more recent tv shows and movies aren't much better. So far this is a well-conducted trial with a capable, experienced judge and good lawyers. Even the defense lawyer is competent; he just has a crappy case and he has to throw everything at the wall in the hope that something will stick. He's doing his job, which at this point is damage control - getting a conviction on the least onerous charge rather than an acquittal on all charges. The prosecutors are doing an excellent job wrt their strategy in the order they are presenting their witnesses. It's all very dramatic now, but some stretches of the trial will be boring and technical, maybe for days, which is also normal. And if the judge admonishes a witness or a lawyer in some way it will be because part of his job is to keep everybody on track, not let them give information to the jury that shouldn't be admitted due to relevance or prejudice, and generally ensure that the rules of evidence and court procedure are followed.