Another stands near the courtroom's back door, just off the jury box. Still another sits in the front row of the spectator's gallery, near the low door that separates the trial players from the rest of us. Two federal marshals flank each defendant. The room's high windows make it impossible to see anyone in court from the street or adjacent buildings. The courtroom is packed with people and technology.
Laptop computers line the lawyers tables.
Evidence screens are mounted on those tables, on the judge's desk, and in the jury box. Three booths house interpreters translating court proceedings simultaneously into Arabic and Swahili. The defense attorneys have been granted a workroom for use during trial breaks, but the most convenient passage to it has been sealed off. The attorneys have to take two elevators to get to it. The marshals, in charge of courthouse security, have reason to be on alert for surprises.