Another Day in Court

I'm still in the single digits in court appearances, still on one hand for court appearances without a chaperone. Today a lawyer said mean things to me -- well, to the judge, about me and my client. And he waved his arms around.

I think I came off sounding pretty reasonable. Maybe even poised. Again I called the judge "sir" once instead of saying "your honor." A little mental block I seem to have when I get nervous. And the judge surprised me by addressing me first, rather than plaintiff's counsel, and so I answered him still seated for a while, until it occurred to me to rise. After the judge suggested he was inclined to see things in my favor on one of the points and asked if I had anything to add, I did speak when I should have just said, "nothing further" and sat down -- the judge stopped listening and started putting his folders away while I was talking, so I got the clue and cut it off. But otherwise I feel okay about it. I did not lean on the desk, I did not fiddle with my papers, and I did not speak too softly or too loud. It was the longest hearing I've had so far, with lots of back and forths, and two discrete motions being considered and a little bit of procedural complexity.

The hearings are all in a big room so everyone listens to the hearings of the parties before them while waiting to be called, so part of the trepidation is that the opportunity to look nervous, inexperienced, unprepared, dopey in front of a whole bunch of attorneys I don't know is sort of magnification of the regular level of nervousness of talking to a judge. But my awareness that there were other people in the room totally dissolved when we started talking. And even though I went in not exactly dreading it, but with trepidation and annoyance, it was a little bit fun.

The judge started things off with a comment suggesting the other attorney had perhaps made some poor choices. And the baliff smiled at me and rolled his eyes while the other attorney was talking. Which I am choosing to take as a good sign.

Comments

[Richard Ames]

Good for you. Sounds like you had a good day in court. I used to feel a lot like you describe until I started to see a pattern that there is no pattern. Good court days and bad court days, regardless of preparation, are rather unpredictable for the most part. So many factors are out of my control regardless of how “centered” or “in command” I might feel -- existing legal precedents, mood of the judge, time of day (just before or just after lunch = bad time), personality of opposing counsel, temperature of the court room (we have problems in that department where I practice), and oh, the facts -- all these things conspire to make me look foolish or brilliant at times.

Oh, and about the “your honor” versus “sir" -- Actually I personally think calling the Court “sir” is a good thing once in a while. I never call the Court “your honor,” just a personal rule for myself. I say “the Court” or “judge.” Too many “honors” elevates the court a bit too much for my taste, and judges respond better to me if they sense I have no awe, either real or affected, about them. It nicely puts them on notice that I recognize they’re just a guy or a gal in a Batman cape, and that we are, *together*, trying to come up with a decision that makes sense. The only really honorable thing in the courtroom is the caselaw and statutes, and a little casualness toward the person of the court can go a long way to gaining respect. Just my opinion, which I know you didn’t ask for.

Geez, all I wanted to say is I’m glad you had a good day in court. Sorry for the ramble.

[Scipio]

Nicely done. Sounds like an experience I had a few weeks ago when I brought a motion to amend the court's order so that I could file an interlocutory appeal. The judge took one look at the complaint served on my clients, and told the plaintiff's attorney that if he were the plaintiff's attorney, he'd amend the complaint and try serving my clients again.

The plaintiff's attorney said, "I don't think I have to do that." The judge repeated his warning. Now we've got our petition filed...