Doesn’t everybody want to find out why that guy shot his neighbor who always mowed his lawn? That’s why I love covering courts because it’s the place you find out all the juicy details that can’t be found on a police report. At least, the part of the police report that’s public record.
This blog hopes to give you those fund snippets and details that may not make it into the newspaper. Not that the scoop here will embellish or not be factual, they just may be evolving stories or pieces of stories that aren’t appropriate as a stand alone newspaper article . In the blogging world there is a little more freedom and space.
And I want your input. Tell me what you want to learn about in the courts or what court cases you want to read about. The best thing about blogging is the interaction between me and you. I liveblog most of the trials I cover in the state courts and always ask the readers to share their opinions on the crime or even a judge’s ruling. That’s what I’m looking for here.
I also hope to get some guest bloggers like defense attorneys who can share interesting tidbits. They have the best stories. I would love to get some judges to share but that could be more difficult. They have this thing about impartiality. Well, maybe we could talk about music. I know two who could educate you on the Dead and the Beatles.
Trish Mehaffey, courts reporter for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
