A big question going into the trial of Rod Blagojevich was how much hoopla Judge James Zagel would allow in his courtroom.
After all, the difference between a three-ring circus and a bunch of clowns dancing on the street is a tent – and Zagel controls the tent.
The judge has a reputation for running a tight ship. He also possesses a certain sense of levity. It was largely expected that he would constrain some of the trademark antics Blagojevich attorney Sam Adam Jr. is known for, but not clear by how much.
In his opening remarks in Blagojevich’s corruption trial, Adam Jr. did put his lawyerly theatrics on display. He followed that up with a cross-examination of Lon Monk, the former Blagojevich chief of staff, which forced a star prosecution witness to acknowledge on the stand that he didn’t remember key details of the alleged extortion plots in which he said he was a participant. At the very least, it looked as if the defense was working with an operative plan.
Since then, however, Blagojevich’s attorneys have been stymied as the judge and the prosecutors have begun to dismantle the circus. Last Thursday, Zagel did the jurist’s equivalent of sitting Adam Jr. in timeout, asking the jury to leave before he admonished the attorney over his repetitive questioning of a witness, saying that if Adam Jr. hadn’t made his point by then, “you should just give up all hope.â€
The judge now routinely makes belittling, if good-natured, editorial comments about the defense’s style of cross-examination, which has clearly begun to rub Zagel the wrong way. The defense, either attempting to stand its ground or genuinely confused about the rules of evidence, has so far made only minor modifications to its approach, and the result has been long strings of objections by the prosecution – almost all of which are sustained by Zagel.
Each defense attorney now has run up against this battering ram at least once, and a number of the defense’s cross-examinations have ended with a whimper or a thud. On Monday, after one such barrage during the cross-examination of racetrack owner John Johnston, Zagel wondered aloud whether Sam Adam Sr. was even getting his point, to which Adam Sr. demurred that he wasn’t sure.
Later in the day, as he conferred with both sides prior to former Blagojevich aide Bradley Tusk taking the stand, Zagel routinely cut off the long-winded, professorial defense lawyer Sheldon Sorosky.
Meanwhile, frustration is visibly setting in at the defense table. Exasperation was beginning to furrow the normally imperturbable brow of Blagojevich himself, who was found at one point yesterday scowling furiously while he scribbled on a note pad, ripping off pages and passing them to his counsel.
The trial continues this morning with the testimony of former Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris, who is expected to remain on the stand for the next several days.