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December 20, 2007
Posted: 12:13 PM ET

Since this is the  last day of 2007, I thought to reflect on the year in court.  

The year started with Anna Nicole Smith dead and the fight over her body and her baby — not to mention the inquiries into her death and that of her son, Daniel. We had Phil Spector, an eccentric billionaire record mogul, on trial for murder and the Las Vegas sports memorabilia heist allegedly led by former Heisman winner O.J. Simpson. 

jami floyd

Cynthia Sommer, a Marine widow, enhanced her appearance after her husband’s death,  thereby enhancing her chance for conviction. (She was.)  NFL Star Michael Vick went down for illegal dogfighting.

We had Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, convicted as an accomplice to rape and a hung jury in the trial of a man named Orange. A grown man named Scooter went down for lying about leaking.

Here’s the good news for 2008:  Crime is the gift that keeps on giving.  The Phil Spector and OrangeTaylor cases will be retried this year.  Cynthia Sommer also gets a new trial.  Michael Vick still faces charges in state court.  And O.J. hasn’t even begun to fight. 

While Court TV becomes Tru TV in primetime, never fear. Court TV news will be In Session.  I hope to see you right here in 2008.

– Jami Floyd

Filed under: Jami Floyd • O.J. Simpson


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Paco   January 1st, 2008 2:22 am ET

Jami Floyd, you are my favorite Court TV anchor! You provided the best and most fair coverage of the JonBenet Ramsey John Mark Karr saga anywhere… and I have been hooked on you ever since. Keep up the wonderful work in session. I also enjoy your Last Word segments. You seem to always be on my side of the fence. I will be watching.

Gail Wimbush   January 1st, 2008 3:19 pm ET

When I first heard about the name change of Court TV, I was very concerned that myself and others would not have a place to follow trials up coming in 2008, but not be able to see retrial of Spector, Taylor and Summers.

Thanks for a great job to all of you and I look forward to seeing all in 2008,

Judith C. Allen   January 1st, 2008 9:15 pm ET

Dear Jami,
I’m really in mourning today, with the loss on our satellite system of Court TV. There’s just a limit to the number of car wrecks, disasters, etc., that I can take.
I’m going to miss being able to watch CourtTV more than anyone can know.
Please relay this to Mr. Graham as well.
I still remember the month during the Jasper dragging trial that I had to keep a diary for the Neilson ratings and my diary daily listed “CourtTV” for hours on end, just to catch your every update from our neighboring county.
I had retired from working as a law librarian when the O.J. Simpson trial hit. I rarely missed a session.
You and all your commentators taught me quite a bit about criminal law. (I had worked for a personal injury law firm & had little grounding in criminal law.)
I missed very few days of the Warren Jeffs coverage; the only days that I lost were when I had to go to a doctor or put up with endless tests, preparing for surgery last summer.
I came to appreciate Star Jones’ program, as well. Tell her we will miss her. Also Catherine Crier’s show when it disappeared. I appreciated it when they were willing to scrap the day’s plans to continue courtroom coverage.
When courtroom coverage got reduced, I started worrying about CourtTV. When the ads for TruTV came on, it confirmed my fears.
Will we be able to watch streaming courtroom coverage here?
It’s one thing to get reports; it’s totally another to watch live testimony.
Thank you for sticking with us.
We do appreciate you and your hard work.
Most sincerely,
Judy Allen, Beaumont, TX

Linda Beach   January 1st, 2008 11:32 pm ET

I love your insight and passion for the law. I dont always agree with you but I am always interested in hearing what you have to say.

Heather R.   January 1st, 2008 11:55 pm ET

Happy New Year to All !
Even as we leave the old year behind and sadly, our old friend Courttv as well, I am looking forward to what I hope and pray will be a good year for all of us, and for Lady Justice. I will undoubtedly miss “Courttv” terribly, however, I am grateful that most of our favorite anchors will remain with us to inform and enlighten us daily on the status of the country’s most provocative, dramatic , and tragic legal cases.

Personally, I am looking forward, as Jami said, to Phil Spector and Orange Taylor being re-tried, and most importantly to me, seeing Cynthia Sommer get the new trial she deserves.I pray she will be acquitted. There are many, many Americans who fiercely support Cindy, and believe wholeheartedly in her factual innocence. There is no doubt in our minds that she was wrongfully convicted in her first trial. I will be eager, as are many others to see her vindicated, and her liberty restored.

As for the many, many guilty defendants who face trials each day in this country, I pray that we will see justice for the victims in those cases.

I look forward to a great 2008!!

R.D.Cantell   January 2nd, 2008 8:27 am ET

Finally a good use of the internet has happened. I find everything about the law fascinating and will visit Sidebar ofter. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

R.D. Cantell

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Sidebar takes you behind the scenes of the day's legal headlines with breaking news and in-depth analysis from In Session's anchors and correspondents.

Contributors
Ashleigh Banfield
Co-anchor of the daily trial program Banfield and Ford: Courtside
Ashleigh Banfield
Jack Ford
A former prosecutor and co-anchor of the daily trial program Banfield & Ford: Courtside
Jack Ford
Lisa Bloom
Anchor of the daily trial program Lisa Bloom: Open Court
Lisa Bloom
Jami Floyd
Former defense attorney and anchor of her own daily program Jami Floyd: Best Defense
Jami Floyd
Fred Graham
Senior Editor Fred Graham covers legal news in Washington, D.C.
Fred Graham
Jean Casarez
Attorney Jean Casarez covers trials around the country
Jean Casarez
Beth Karas
Former prosecutor Beth Karas covers trials around the country
Beth Karas
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