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Cafe Near Courthouse Will Hold Your Phone, For A Fee

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There is a winner in the Paul Manafort trial even before the verdict is delivered. The Cafe Gallery & Market across from the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., has been checking the mobile phones and laptops of lawyers, reporters and witnesses at their deli counter because electronic devices are not permitted in the courthouse. Kaitlyn Lee, the daughter of the owner, checks each device for $2. Ms. Lee, a recent biology grad from the University of Virginia who was helping out her mother during the trial, tells the Washington Business Journal they earn an extra $80 a day from checking the electronic devices of the cast of characters that turn out for a major federal trial. It's vacation season, so we're really thankful for it, said Ms. Lee. The family might hope for a long trial and many appeals. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.