Paul E. Plunkett was at home in the courtroom.During his decadeslong career in the law — as a private attorney and prosecutor and later as a federal trial judge — Plunkett thrived on trials.“He loved trials,” Plunkett’s son, Andrew M. Plunkett of Childress Loucks & Plunkett, said Tuesday. “He loved the art of the trial and he loved spending time with his jurors.”Unlike ruling on appeals, Plunkett told the Daily Law Bulletin in 1997, presiding over trials provided the …