Mostly, they waited their turn. To the roughly 10 people in the public seating on the right, the situation was anything but routine. Some turned around anxiously whenever someone entered the room. One man leaned his head back on his seat, briefly closing his eyes. Phyllis Goertz got kicked out for trying to get the attention of her incarcerated son.
Defendants can strike plea bargains early in the process.
The presiding judge has the influential duty of overseeing the readiness hearing. Judge Wallace is good at getting deals at those hearings, often steering attorneys to a settlement, many attorneys say. The approach brings more plea bargains, and at times slightly lower sentences than under his predecessors, the attorneys noted. It makes a difference. Wallace declined to comment on comparisons between himself and predecessors.