"Docket Number 08-N-629-014," the Court Clerk bellowed in a strong New York accent, "People of the State of New York versus Patrick J. Sawyer."
Assistant District Attorney Stephen Barringer watched the defendant, Patrick Sawyer, hobble across the floor toward the defendant's stand. Here for Sawyer's arraignment, Stephen was filling in for ADA Samantha Richards to present the State's case against Sawyer. Standing in front of the Honorable Adam Kohl for the first time made him nervous because the judge was known for chewing up and spitting out rookie attorneys just for the sport of it.
Dressed in a prison-issued orange jumpsuit, Sawyer's leg irons and wrist manacles attached to a belly chain around his mid-section jiggled like coins brushing against a metal surface. A guard on each side o
