On The Light Side

Usually, the courtroom is a very serious place where serious business takes place. But there are exceptions once in a while, usually unintentional.

Many years ago, I was waiting for my case to come to trial and there was a short trial before mine with unrepresented defendants. They asked the judge if they could bring in some evidence and he said OK. Their evidence was a 20 foot tree that their neighbor had cut down. They carried it down the aisle and set it down in front of the judge's bench. He just laid his head down in his hands.

One of our district court judges was active in our community theater group, and was excited about the sets he'd designed for the local production of 'The Sound of Music' in which I was playing the captain. I'd also done some set design and building for a few shows before that. I happened to be passing through the courtroom one day and he called me to the bench with a most serious tone to his voice. I wondered what I was in trouble for. When I got to the bench, he had all his drawings for the set laid out and wanted me to go over some details with him.

One of our county lawyers once had a bad case of shingles or something that caused severe pain to his legs if anything touched them. He still had to practice law, so he got a dispostion from the judges to wear bermuda shorts with his coat and tie for a while. Quite a sight in the courtroom.

Anybody else have any courtroom stories?