Ruminations: Formalities
| Publication year | 2003 |
| Citation | Vol. 2003 No. 03 |
March 2003 - #6. Ruminations: Formalities
At the Daily Bread in Richmond, when you give your order, they ask your first name, and when your food is ready you hear, from across the dining room, "Paul, your lunch is ready." It sounds like home. A courtroom is not a home. It is a place where law is done. It need not be unfriendly, but it ought to be formal. Formality is the preferred medium for the resolution of facts and argument in a dispassionate and impartial atmosphere. And yet we were still surprised when, in the middle of the examination of a witness, the Court interrupted and instructed the lawyer to use surnames only. It took a minute for both attorneys to recognize that one had called the witness by his first name. It was a small slip, but one not missed by the judge. The examination continued, and surnames were used for the remainder of the proceeding.
We were startled because we forgot where we were. Not so long ago, a man was held in contempt of court for calling lawyers by their first names in court.1 Yet in other courtrooms today, before other judges, first names are fine. Sometimes the judge even calls a lawyer by his or her first name.
Suppose you are unfamiliar with the ways of the courts. Where would you learn this fine point of decorum? You might start with a look in the Code of Professional Conduct. Ethical Consideration 7-36 explains that while "a lawyer has the duty to represent his client zealously, he should not engage in any conduct that offends the dignity and decorum of proceedings. While maintaining his independence, a lawyer should be respectful, courteous, and above-board in his relations with a judge or hearing officer before whom he appears. He should avoid undue solicitude for the comfort or convenience of judge or jury and should avoid any other conduct calculated to gain special consideration."2
The Code of Judicial Conduct places a duty on the court as well. "A judge shall require order and decorum in proceedings before the judge."3 But what rules of order and decorum? Where are the standards?
To rise when a judge enters or leaves the courtroom, speak only when called on, and refer to the court as "your honor" are standard signs of respect. If we do not know them the first time we enter a courtroom, the way others behave certainly instructs us.
Vermont has no adopted formal rules of decorum, as other jurisdictions have. The Minnesota Supreme Court, for instance, has taken a close look at how people should behave. Its rules require the removal of overcoats and overshoes outside of the courtroom, prohibit "unnecessary conversation, loud whispering, newspaper or magazine reading in the courtroom while court is in session," and mandate the wearing of appropriate business attire in the courtroom.4
Different jurisdictions have different standards. S. Tupper Bigelow, a Toronto magistrate, had a reputation for ordering lawyers to leave the courtroom when he found them wearing Argyll socks or too - busy sports jackets.5 Regulating winter footwear would be a particular...
To continue reading
Request your trial