“The conversations were often the same: ‘man, I’m tired’ or ‘gee, it’s cold this morning’ or something about the cast of courtroom characters: the surly judge; the petite, coldblooded prosecutor; Sam’s parents; his overmatched attorneys,” he said. “But it was fine. After spending 12 to 16 hours each day (a) in the courthouse, (b) standing just outside it, or (c) writing about it, what else was there to talk about? A meteor could have hit D.C. and I wouldn’t have heard about it until I got in line the next morning.”