Day in Court

I was shooting in court all morning for the Detroit News. This is the caption that went with the above photo. It has been a long time since I have shot in court. The prelim Exam was to continue on this afternoon and on Thursday but I got waht I needed and the photo desk said not to go back.

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI - MAY 16: Roger Sweet, left, and his attorney Jerome Sabbota glance at autopsy photographs that were submitted as evidence by the prosecution during a preliminary examination May 16, 2007 at the 47th District Courthouse in Farmington Hills. Sweet is facing charges for allegedly killing his first wife back in 1990.

Sweets 2^nd wife disappeared back in January of this year and during the investigation it seems police found her diary and that had them look into the death of his first wife 16 years ago. Shooting in court was never my favorite. It’s a lot of waiting, judges sometimes get mad at the camera clicks, people are charged up and many don’t really want to be photographed. I don’t really blame them. But it can also be interesting and like many things I have shot over the years as a photojournalist you get to see and do things many people don’t and you meet a lot of many different people. In court regardless of who is guilty or not guilty, telling the truth or lying you learn a lot about the people involved. All the skeletons seem to come out of the closet. Not really when people want to be photographed. It does feel weird at times especially when they stare into the camera lens. It’s also kind of like watching a play or TV show because it can be emotional and there is always some acting going on. Its just part of the show, I mean proceedings. Attorneys doing there job can really pick apart a witness because most people know nothing about how court works and are nervous. Court can be very confusing for most people. The attorneys are many times trying to catch a witness in a lie or just make them look dumb and unbelievable. I hope I never have to be a witness in a court case, its intimidating.