Visiting a jail is not fun. Going to jail is not made to be a fun experience for the inmate, his family, his attorney or the deputies in charge of housing these individuals. Why is it this way? Is it intentional? Maybe. Intentional or not there seems to be a theme in all Caliofornia jails. Empty lobbies with old bus station type decor. Random informational portals by why of lcd screens or paper post its. A public restroom that has seen better days. A lobby person behind glass looking at every visitor like a trespasser or a problem. Not to be cruel but just by nature these places are cold and stale.
Visiting a client places the attorney in the position of the client. Housed behind rules and pre determined paths to get to an inmate visitor room. Usually attorneys are allowed to walk alone to find the destination, occasionally passing inmates who have higher status to walk about un supervised because of some portal role.
The attorney ultimately finds his way to his client only to be met with a completely different person than was at the courthouse. This person is more inviting, more personable, like a real person. With real questions. No front of an acting job in court. No mixed feelings of family in audience, victim in crowd, courtroom, etc. Just an attorney and his client. Just a real conversation about real decisions that need to be made.