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No. 40467
>>238519
As Cyan writes the master post, I will type this out: my account of what occurred. We felt that both of us should describe it, as we both noticed different details just as we noticed the same ones. When put together, both of our stories should give you a fairly clear image of the trial.
Initial Observations
Our dear CWC looked absolutely miserable to be there, his face set in an almost cartoonish pout. He was only sporting some of his now-signature Tomgirl look: the hair and make-up (restricted to light lipstick and eyeshadow) were present, but the clothes he sported were slacks and an unremarkable flannel shirt. I would probably be right in guessing that his subdued physical appearance was at the insistence of his lawyer.
Barbara looked as though she had lost significant weight, and another older woman was with them. We're certain that it was Anna.
The Pleas
This may surprise you, but Barbara and Chris did the smart thing for once and pleaded guilty . . . ah, but that's not quite all. Their lawyer explained that while they were choosing this course of action, they maintain that their version of events (their TRUE and HONEST account of what occurred between themselves and Mr. Snyder) is the accurate story. In other words: "we're guilty but not really lol."
The judge has the option of denying this type of plea-bargaining based on what occurs next. Keep this in mind.
Barbara's Turn
This portion was mostly unworthy of note, aside from Barbara nearly getting uppity at the start. She calmed down pretty quickly, though, and conducted herself rather politely through the judge's questions.
Meanwhile, Chris was busy completely disassociating himself from the situation. He fiddled around with his sunglasses (making a few noises when they collided with the table every now and then), played with his ring, and didn't seem like he was paying much attention to dialogue he probably ought to be listening to.
Chris's Turn
Before Chris had his turn to speak, their lawyer stepped in to provide context to Chris's situation. It's all stuff we've heard before, though there were a couple of quotes worth noting:
> He used "high-functioning autistic" to describe Chris, most likely at Chris's request. This is no longer used as any sort of technical term, so it sounded rather silly coming from a professional lawyer.
> Not long afterward, he goes on to describe Chris as an "adult autistic child." This drew a notable reaction out of Chris. He went so far as to change his facial expression from severe pouting to as close to outrage as he dared show; he nearly interrupted his lawyer, but must have though better of it and quieted whatever he was going to say into an intelligible mumble.
Finally, it was Chris's turn to answer the routine questions given by the clerk and the judge. Chris, due to not paying attention earlier, asked if his lawyer could answer on his behalf. He was met with a reminder that no, in fact, you have to answer these questions all by yourself. Perish the thought.
After the clerk finished her segment, Chris had the gall to interrupt the judge just as he was getting started with his round of questioning. Despite the rough start, Chris got the hint and kept his responses to "yes" and "no" and did fairly well answering them quickly . . . that is, until he was asked if he had pled guilty completely of his own free will. There was a LONG pause before he finally remembered that the "correct" answer was yes. Looks like he needed more rehearsal time to me.
Oh, and that's not all! Things got interesting when Mr. Snyder was brought up . . .
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