The capital of this country is Courtroom 3301 of the Mecklenburg County Criminal Courts Building. The boundaries go out maybe half a block. For nearly two weeks now, they have spent most of their daylight hours together - families and friends, lawyers and reporters, court employees and those chosen for the jury pool. The people involved cross paths when they don't mean to, when they are trying their best not to.
Every day is full of awkward moments.
Judge Charles Lamm usually calls for 15-minute breaks twice a day. Most everybody lingers in the hallway outside the courtroom. Carruth's mother, Theodry, often gathers with family and friends on one of the benches. The family and friends of Cherica Adams, the murder victim, usually stand at a railing by the window. Last week Cherica's mother, Saundra Adams, introduced Theodry Carruth to some of Cherica's other relatives.