Groom's side noticably missing

Being in court is kind of like attending a wedding. On one side you have the press (the bride's side) and the other side you have the family and friends of the person on trial (the groom's side). If you have ever been to a wedding or have taken the plunge, you know that whether you admit it or not, you want to be on the side that has more people. It's petty, but that's the way it is.

Sitting in a trial is the same. As the press, we sit on the right hand side and take up three to four rows out of the 6 benches available. There's a few of us techie bloggers continously typing, a couple court artists and then the reporters for the newspapers, radio and TV networks.

Throughout the trial, Ford's family has filled at least three of the rows on their side of the court. There's his girlfriend, his daughter from LA and a couple other family members - even Jake Ford has dropped by to support John. Then there's usually a few curious spectators who want to hear the trial first hand and watch the evidence with the jury. In fact, earlier this week, there were times that all of the benches on "that" side were full.

But not today. Today only five spectators have shown up and Ford's family is noticabily missing.

Where have all the Ford's gone?