In the first two blog entries, I touched on the quilts hanging on the courtroom walls, and cake given to the jury. Now I can say some of my questions have been answered.

 

The quilts were made by Judge Schwab’s wife. That was pointed out to me by one of the members of his staff. His wife is also responsible for bringing in at least some of the cakes given to the jury. At last check, the cake count was up to 5 or 6.

Originally, Judge Schwab promised cake to the jury at the end of each month, in the hopes he’d  have only two. But since then, there’s been cake at almost the end of every week. Most recently, the jury was given a chocolate breakfast cake. 

 

While the press was offered a piece of cake one of the days, some reporters felt comfortable having it, others did not. I think it has something to do with a conflict of interest, which was my reason for not having it. It’s almost like you can’t be impartial if you’re enjoying their sweets.

 

After the end of one of the weeks, I was speaking with Prosecutor Stephen Stallings about these cakes, and he wondered why the prosecution was not offered any. It was in a joking matter, but brought up the point that it’s not often you see a jury being given dessert.

 

But that depends on who you ask. Some of Judge Schwab’s staff tell me that cakes, pies and other snacks are common in the federal courthouse. However, among those of us covering the case, it’s the first we’ve ever seen such a thing.

 

Stallings rationalizes it like this: the jurors have to pay for their own lunch, so why not give them a treat? I asked him if it’s at all concerning to him….if it could for any reason influence the jury. He said it was the last thing on his mind. Totally understandable.

 

Still some of you have called and emailed about the cake. One caller thought tax dollars were paying for the treat. Others wonder why it’s necessary.  When the trial is over, I’d love to ask the judge about it.

 

One thing is for sure, the cakes have been a big hit. Judge Schwab always asks the jury how the cake was. Each time they’ve replied “Delicious”.

 

I’ve joked with some of his staff they should put all the recipes into a cookbook and give them court-themed names. We’ll see if that happens.