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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Courtroom manners should spell R-E-S-P-E-C-T

On any given day in any given trial courtroom across Maryland you can find folks wearing a wide array of apparel, including T-shirts, jeans, tank tops, sweatpants, and even pajamas. While court is in session, sheriff’s deputies beseech gallery observers to cease conversing and canoodling. And at the end of a busy day, the courthouse hallways are adorned with soda cans and gum remnants, and the gallery benches are emblazoned with new graffiti.

Since when did we start treating courtrooms like our living rooms?

While members of the bar did not commit many of the aforementioned offenses, I’ve seen lawyers come to court in business casual, deposit garbage on the floor and chew bubble gum at trial table.

Put it all in the blender and it creates an environment where it feels OK to say and do whatever you want without consequences. Worse, it gives the impression that the courtroom and those occupying it don’t deserve respect. It becomes abundantly apparent when people curse during victim impact statements, refer to the judge by just her last name and loudly snicker at opposing counsel that we are not in Kansas anymore.

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3 comments:

  1. Sorry about wherever you live, but I've just finished a jury duty in Wicomico County, Maryland, and we were able to maintain the highest standards of law and I was proud to serve the system.

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  2. I have served jury duty in Wicomico County many, many times over the years, and we were given an acceptable dress code. And everyone adhered to it, and I never saw what the above comment states in this county. The only thing I will say surprised me was that the Defense rarely did a good job of defending their client, rarely was there anyone that came forward about their character, or was someone put on the stand to give you a different opinion. The only thing you could decide the case on was the facts submitted and the defendants attitude in court.

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  3. Look at some of the people who are now judges...if the public only knew their past and their current bad deeds there would be a revolt!

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