At this point, the trial is technically supposed to be half over. However, it doesn’t appear that’s the case.

 

That’s thanks to federal holidays, which of course means the courthouse is closed, and there was two days the building was shut down due to a power problem.

 

It may also have to do with the amount of time witnesses are spending on the stand. Some are in and out in a day, but many have been staying for in some cases a week or more.

 

Case in point: Dr Wecht’s former Secretary, Eileen Young. At the time of this blog, she will be starting her sixth day of being on the stand. Some of those weren’t full days, but so far she’s been up there the longest. While I’ve been sitting there, all I could think of was how amazed I am by how she keeps her composure. Sometimes the line of questioning gets repetitive and a bit tedious, and I know if it were me up there, I’d be getting annoyed, but clearly the respective attorneys have a reason for what they do.

 

What impresses me the most about Eileen is that she’s able to answer the questions, cracking jokes here and there and manages to leave court with a smile on her face. We’ve seen each other in the hallway, and while speaking is completely taboo, a grin or two has been exchanged. Some of the reporters have joked if there was an award for longevity, she’d win.

 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like she’s doing stand-up or treating this trial like it’s not a serious thing. There was some testimony on Monday dealing with invoices for trips Dr. Wecht took. In a few cases, Young didn’t charge clients as much as they should’ve paid. In one case, it was off by a penny. She casually joked that it wasn’t enough to constitute fraud. Some members of the jury and the audience chuckled.  

 

Compare that to other witnesses, former employees of Dr Wecht who say they’d run errands for him. Some of them would start to break down a bit on the stand.  

 

I find when I leave the trial at night, there are times my head hurts from the overload of information. I can only imagine what it’s like for the jury. Still, it’s interesting and I think the best part of the story is still ahead.


If you have a question/comment about the trial, email me at mleaf@kdka.com .