https://www.coffeeandcovid.com
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..... “In other trial news, I found Maggie Haberman’s comment from the New York Times’ live stream to be professionally fascinating. Trump’s lawyers are creating a very detailed record of all Judge Merchan’s decisions, even small ones:
But legally speaking, Judge Merchan is wrong. There isn’t really any point where Trump must “accept his rulings.” The defense’s ability to draft motions for reconsideration is limited only by available time and available lawyers.
When a case is particularly important, and when the defendant is very well-funded, there will usually be two teams of lawyers in the courtroom at all times. The team we see is the litigation team. But the other team, a team of lawyers not seated at counsel table, is a team of appellate lawyers. Their job is to watch the case like hawks, and advise the litigation team in real time about how to help trap the judge into a legally fatal mistake, and about how to preserve any such errors for the appeal when they do happen.
The tobacco companies perfected this technique during the cigarette trials.
The reason a defendant might file motions challenging every little decision the judge makes would be to get the judge to talk more. Whenever a judge is officially talking, he might make an error. So the more a defendant can get the judge to talk and rule on things, the greater the chance he’ll make some kind of useful mistake.
Plus, all human beings are susceptible to a syndrome called “decision fatigue.” You’ve surely experienced it. The simple process of making repetitive decisions is mentally draining. Having to make many decisions in a row — like when you’re building a house, planning a wedding, or plotting a Ukrainian coup — can be taxing and exhausting.
Judges must make decisions all day long, every day. Often the decisions are important, hard, and contentious, and there are consequences for getting it wrong, because there’s an appellate court potentially peeking over the judge’s shoulder. By forcing the judge to reconsider every little decision, Trump’s lawyers are effectively doubling the normal decision fatigue the judge is experiencing. Being forced to make every decision twice doubles the odds he’ll make a mistake.
In light of these dynamics, I found Maggie’s next comment from the Times’ live stream to be a sign the judge may be starting to wear out a little:
Judge Merchan has a weekend to recover. But if this week was crazy, next week will be crazy times infinity.”
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4232478/posts?page=1
War on Women: Biden Regime Proudly Abolishes Title IX – Will Now Force Women to Allow Biological Men in Their Locker Rooms, On their Team Sports and in Their Bathrooms
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com ^ | 4/20/2024 | margaret flavin
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Plus, all human beings are susceptible to a syndrome called “decision fatigue.” You’ve surely experienced it. The simple process of making repetitive decisions is mentally draining. Having to make many decisions in a row — like when you’re building a house, planning a wedding, or plotting a Ukrainian coup — can be taxing and exhausting.
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What a great observation! This captures exactly why I feel so tired after a week of bridge against excellent players.
In a tournament, we each play 24-27 hands every game and most players play 2 games a day (48-54 hands). A tournament can last from one day to 11 days for a National tournament (528-594 hands). There are 13 rounds of play in each hand and 12 involve a decision, so there are a minimum of 288 decisions in a single game, 6336-7128 decisions for an 11 day tournament. There is no decision in the last round of play of a hand because every player must play the only card he holds.
For each hand, the idea is for each player to figure out who holds which cards based on the bidding, the actual play of cards and through sophisticated communication techniques using the cards played. This means we don’t necessarily play the lowest card we hold in a suit when the opponents play the ace of that suit. The card we play tells our partner something about our hand so we can silently work together to win the maximum number of rounds/tricks. The earlier it is in the play of a hand, the tougher the decision about which card to play because less is known about what the other players hold. The opponents are also watching the cards we play and our signals to each other, so we have to find the right balance between telling our partner the truth and misleading the opponent.
When the hand is over, then the internal evaluation and judgement starts as we critique the decisions we made throughout the hand, sometimes accompanied by partner’s comments on the same. I absolutely suffer from decision fatigue at the end of a tournament from the sheer number and complexity of the decisions made throughout the week. That’s also why, when I get home, the mere question “What should I make for dinner?” can feel like an impossible riddle. I’m delighted to have a name for it. Let’s hope that Judge Merchan doesn’t have the mental or physical stamina required to prevent his own decision fatigue.