it is finished, for now

Hurray the jury decided to charge a misdemeanor which means no jail time, no loss of license...Freedom, of a sort...there will be punishment but the relief is palpable. we are grateful. now for face to face decisions about cowgirlgrannie's future care. the family will meet today for the final time and get things in order. something good did come of this: communication lines open and face to face time with family long lost. We are thankful. there are always two sides to something and the jury saw that the Wrangler had his own adjenda and they slapped it down. We are so thankful.

time for a decision, sort of.

court has adjourned till afternoon where the final arguments will be given, jury instructions will be given and the jury will meet and decide the case. the decision has to be unaninamous. one juror could acquit cargiverQ. we hope that more than that will understand the gravity of their decision to vote guilty and vote not guilty. we could be on our way home soon.

all day long

yesterday. the Witnesses for the prosecution were called. 2 of the caretakers claimed that "cowgirlgrandma" never struck them or fought them but then admitted that she hated having her diapers put on hated showers hated being told what to do... they were asked if she could walk or get out of bed on their own...the reply was to the question: no but actually they recalled walking with her outside for 30 minutes at a time this was by holding her hand or with their arms around When the head care taker came on the witness stand and told of grandma striking her, punching at her so hard that grandma fell on the caretaker and they went down together. Grandma broke the cartakers glasses, gave her numerous bruises and sometimes when she was angry would get out of bed and wander around and pull things out of drawers the when the head caretaker said yes, she can walk on her own but we assist her so she will not fall and hurt herself.head caretaker said that at one point cowgirlgrandma fell and broke 3 ribs. this was supposed to be the state's evidence that caregiverQ (daughter of cowgirlgrandma)was guilty of elderabuse! the Wrangler was furious! he thought that he had someone who would prove his case. then the next witness was called: the bookkeeper. She told of how she was the bookkeeper for cowgirlgrandma and the rest of the fam. This proved to completely undo the case! She related that she was friends with caregiverQ and that on the morning of the incident she had brought coffee to caregiverQ just because they were friends.Wrangler was visibly angry!
the jury has been sent away while some evidence has to be discussed: should it be allowed or not. Wrangler hopes to have the evidence given because he obviously feels that it will sway the jury to his side. Back and forth the two lawyers trying to make their case.
news flash: the judge just yelled at the DA (wrangler) to sit down! we all jumped
one of the officers who interviewed cargiverQ is on the stand. he just told a whopper of a lie! i mean he told a lie to caregiverQ! that is in the interview from the evidence Caught! Columbo notices it but decided that it was not the trial on the police officer. he lets it go. finally there is a decision to keep the tape out of the trial. whew!

news flash, Wrangler shouted at Columbo-Get away from me i am trying to get some water--Columbo was just saying to him, Judge wants to see us in Chamber right away! Wrangler did this in front of a lone Juror...later that will be reported to the whole jury because you know they will!
Jury back in the courtroom and Columbo crossexamines the bookkeeper to his satisfaction, showing that she in fact cannot help the Wrangler's case!
we are adjourned to Wed. where the professionals will be consulted: the Doctors.

the opening statements

the Wrangler explained that his evidence would prove the defendant guilty of elder abuse. He showed picture after picture of the scene of the "crime" and told a pack of disjointed statements that were not factual. Grandma was 93 when it happened and now she is 96 one year later (huh?)he said she was a frail, gentle, meek woman. i wondered if he had ever met her...nope he had not. he said that the evidence would come from the witnesses. Then Columbo got up and refuted a bunch of the mistatements and also made the DA and the Judge so upset that they stopped the proceedings and the Judge called the Atorneys up to the bench to talk with him privately. Each time they were called up Columbo would move his chair way back into the 'aisle and the DA would have to walk around his chair to get to the bench. we could tell it annoyed the DA because he would savagely push at the chair as he walked by. Columbo talked and talked to the jury and gave the whole life story of the Defendant. that really set the Wrangler(DA_) off :)
this was hard to watch but there were those little amusing moments that kept us listening to make sure we did not miss anything.

Day Two

The process of selecting the Jury took until 4pm. The Judge asked questions which eliminated people for medical, personal, work related reasons.
I must describe the two lawyers. the defense attorney looks a little discheveled, and he talks with a lot of ums and ahs and seems quite harmless and disarming(thus the name Columbo) The DA on the other hand entered the courtroom hung his cream colored cowboy hat on the hat rack and strode confidently into the room. he looks pale unhealthy and unhappy, his head is mostly bald except for side hair slicked down in pieces very unsightly (have to name him Wrangler__)
Then Columbo (the defense Attorney) and the DA (Wrangler) began questoning.
Columbo kept us amused while he consistantly annoyed the judge and the DA. An example; he would stand very close to the DA, who was siting, while talking to the potential jurors. The DA would have to crane his neck in order to look up at Columbo. then Columbo would move around so the DA had to move his chair around to hear and see him. Columbo would bump the DA;s chair and make the DA angry. The DA kept moving around and asking the Judge to make Columbo ask a question. Columbo in his very columbo style waa "connecting" with the Jury and infuriating the DA at the same time. When the DA got up to question the Jurors he jumped up,turned aggressively to the jurors and began to talk "down" to them. Annoying.
i am going to stop and start again

who gets to be the jury?

today the jury will be chosen
its a beautiful day outside but alas we will have 8hrs of waiting and watching.i will post from the pre while in the courtroom
we had a little reunion this morning. we all said: you look the same...hahahajust 25 years older :)

trial

I know what you are thinking...What trial? well, this one is regarding alleged elder abuse(representated by the state) vs caregiver. stay with me for the duration from jury selection to the final decision.
Who will be the winner? no one but someone may go to Jail.

how to get out in front

In no particular order:
1. stop using the goals and actions of others to dictate what you will do.
2. make sure you have rock solid unshakeable goals.
3. prepare for the worst, expect the best.
4. gather like minded individuals to go with you.
5. articulate your plan/vision or get someone who can.
6. become winsome, shed negativity.
7. delegate judiciously.
8. set the pace.
9. pray
10. be generous with your words.

i believe

What have we done? From the government intrusion into Auto industries, banks, health, there seems no end to the progression or spiral downward to total dependance upon the government.The United States Constitution offers so much clarity and simple order. How could "we the people" become "we the government"? For the future generations who will inherit this land the Constitution must be upheld. But how can this be done? Well, here are some of the things we can do: keep the tea party in the focus, support candidates who have track records to prove their committment to the constitution, energize others to stand, communicate with our elected officials,use social media to get the message out, for starters