There are bombshells that happen in court. Especially when the defense doesn't share discovery of material the way the prosecution does, and so surprises always happen. Things pop out without warning.
I agree with Scott Turow: A courtroom is inherently dramatic. You walk into court - it's like an ER, you know? Life and death is going on there. And it's moment-by-moment, and it's packed with energy. And even though you think you know what a witness is going to say, you can be wrong. Witnesses surprise you.
You never know what's going to happen when somebody endeavors to do a true crime story. It can be horribly misleading.
For a long time, I missed being in the courtroom every day. I missed trial work. It was so much a part of my life. It was what I did and who I was. But over the years, I did find the opportunity to realize my childhood dream of writing crime fiction.
I actually was a defense attorney first.
I loved writing when I was a kid and thought about being a writer then. But I didn't have the confidence or belief that I could earn a living that way, so I never took myself seriously.
I wasn't unsympathetic as a defense attorney, but my strong feelings for the victims were getting in my way. I identified too much with the victim.
I can write dramas that are about inside and outside the courtroom.
To the extent that someone goes out to criticize another woman about hair, makeup, silliness like that - unless you're talking about a makeup artist or something, really stop and think about what you're doing and why you're doing it.
When I first started, it was so male-heavy, so male-dominated, that on the 18th floor of the criminal courts building, which was where I worked, there were three men's bathrooms and only one women's bathroom.
Where a man is forceful, a woman is shrill.
I have straight hair. If I don't blow it out, it's not good.
I don't feel like an icon; I don't think of myself as an icon.
I am devoted to my two children, who are far and away more important to me than anything.
I don't think any prosecutor should walk into a courtroom and think they're going to wow a jury with catchphrases and cliches and that kind of performance.
Sarah Paulson is mind-blowing. I mean, she always is. She's always fantastic.
I didn't understand why people cared about my hair or my makeup or my clothing. It was like, 'I'm a prosecutor. I'm not a model. I'm not an actress.'
I like cable stuff; I really do - 'American Horror Story,' 'American Crime Story.'
Most people don't go back to trial work after being in management, but I couldn't do anything else.
Too frequently, we see women being pitted against each other.
