I second Ilena's statement that the Judge seemed less than totally impartial
in handling this case, and I don't believe Jean had a fair chance to state
her case.  In addition, I was in the green room with Jean prior to the show
(Jean held my Paddington during the taping/trial ...), and the person
prepping Jean *repeatedly* told her to interject if she had any objections
to what the plaintiff was saying.  She said that it would not be appropriate
to interrupt the judge, but she should definitely speak up if she needed to
interrupt the plaintiff.
 
So what happened when Jean took the advice she had been given and spoke up
to object to what the plaintiff was saying?  The judge practically scolded
her for interrupting and objecting, and made it sounds like she was being
argumentative - when she was only doing what she had been instructed to do!
That struck me as very unfair .. as well as the fact that he never allowed
Jean to state her side of the case, as the plaintiff had been given an
opportunity to do.
 
Oh, well.  At least we East Coasters got a chance to meet Jean (who is a
lot of fun!), and we were able to have a fun day in the city Sunday (prior
to the show).  We introduced Jean to the subways and the Staten Island
Ferry (don't laugh .. it offers a great view of the Statue of Liberty ..
and it's free!)  We also went to an herbal shop and a space age shop in the
Village, a great Italian restaurant in Little Italy, and observed the tail
end of the sunset from the top of the Empire State Building.
 
Oh, and we got a great new line, too.  As we were walking through Little
Italy, a couple of ladies were walking the opposite direction towards us,
and a few pigeons flew up towards them.  One lady threw her hands up in
front of her face, and declared loudly,  "Oh, oh, oh .. I hate those
PENGUINS!"  (No, she didn't have a foreign accent, either ...)  Ilena and I
were cracking each other up for the rest of the day with penguin jokes ....
 
Paddington and the other ferret at the taping (Theo, owned by Kit) had a
great time, and were VERY popular.  Everyone from the office staff to the
bailiff visited our green room to visit them, and one of the coordinators
even took Paddington down the hall on his leash to meet everyone.  As a
result, Paddington was so zonked that he slept through the entire trial in
Jean's arms.  (Theo sat behind Jean in Anne Ryan's lap, and polished off
darn near a whole tube of Nutristat during the taping!  ;->)
 
I'm sorry and upset about the way the trial turned out for Jean, but I want
to thank her again for the opportunity to meet her.  We had a lot of fun,
and I hope she can come back sometime.  (Just watch out for those penguins
on the street, Jean; they're HUGE!  ;->)
 
- Ela
 
[Moderator's' note: For those considering writing, Todd L. sent in the
corrected address:                                                BIG]
 
Judge Mills Lane
Hurricane Entertainment
62 CHELSEA PIERS
NEW YORK NY 10011-1015
[Posted in FML issue 2503]