Courtrooms are always crowded even when nobody is talking. People are sitting close to each other the lawyers are standing there with their files the police are watching everything and the judge is, in charge.. That day was not the same. The courtroom felt empty like something was not right. Everyone could feel it even before someone said it loud. The people, the lawyers, the police and the judge they all felt that something was missing in the courtroom.
The hearing started at the time it was supposed to. The hearing began just like it was planned.
The judge sat at the bench with his back straight and a face that did not show any emotion. The judge looked over the room slowly which is what the judge always did. There were police officers standing near the area where the defendant was. The part of the room where the public sat was, about half of people. These people were whispering to each other before the session started. Then they all became quiet when the judge walked in.
On the right side stood the defendant.
This guy was really skinny. Looked pretty nervous. He had on a jail jumpsuit. The man kept looking to his left over. His hands were clasped together tightly. The young man did not say a word. He did not look confident all. There was something, about the way the young man was acting that felt really strange.
The lawyer stood next to him holding some papers in his hand and his eyes were looking straight forward. On the outside the lawyer and everything else looked like it was all completely normal. The lawyer seemed to be doing what lawyers usually do and the papers the lawyer was holding seemed to be, in order.
The judge saw it then. He was looking at the thing that had caught his attention. The judge noticed it. He did not look away, from it.
An empty chair.
The chair for the witness was empty. There was no one moving around. Nobody was walking in late. The room was just empty. The chair, for the witness was still empty.
The judge looked unhappy. His face showed it. The judge frowned slightly which made it clear that the judge was not pleased.
The man did not say anything at first. The man flipped through the file checked a page then looked up again at the chair. The mans face did not show that he was angry it just showed that he was confused and also concerned, about something.
The man finally said something. He finally spoke.
The mans voice was really calm. It did not sound like he was accusing anyone of anything. He just asked a simple question. Where is the witness?
The lawyer stopped for a moment. He was not sure what to do. The lawyer thought about it. Then he looked up. The lawyer was still thinking.
It was not a pause but it was enough time. He cleared his throat. Said that the witness was delayed. The reason, for this delay was traffic and also some personal reasons. The witness was delayed because of traffic and personal reasons. He spoke quickly like he really wanted to move past the whole topic of the witness being delayed.
The judge did not respond away. The judge took some time to think about what the judge was going to say. The judge was very careful, with the judges words.
The man leaned back a little. Looked at the defendant. He wanted to see what the defendant was doing. The defendant was the person on trial. The man was very interested, in the defendant.
The young man looked down at the floor. His eyes just dropped down like that. The young man did not look up. He just kept looking at the floor.
The room felt really tight now. The public members were leaning forward in their seats. The police officers stayed still. They were very attentive. The police officers were watching everything that was happening in the room. The public members were waiting to see what would happen next, with the police officers and the public members all focused on the thing.
The judge asked another question. The judge wanted to know more about this. What the judge was really looking for was an answer from the person who was standing in front of the judge. The judge had already asked a lot of questions, to this person. Now the judge was asking another one.
Is the witness really going to show up today? The witness needs to let us know if the witness is coming or not. We have to hear from the witness, about this. Will the witness actually be here today?
The lawyer shifted his weight.
His answer came slower this time.
The lawyer said yes the lawyer had confirmed this earlier.
The lawyers voice was not shaky. The lawyers voice was not confident either.
The judge nodded slowly.
The man said something that I did not expect to hear from him. He really said something.
The man said that the court is going to wait for five minutes. The court will wait for five minutes before they do anything. The court and the people, in the court will just wait for five minutes.
No arguments. No objections. Just five minutes.
The silence that followed felt long. It was like time had stopped. The silence was uncomfortable. The silence that followed was very quiet.
People checked the clock on the wall. The defendant got really nervous. Swallowed hard. The lawyer just kept staring ahead not looking at the defendant or anyone else in the room. The empty chair was still empty it was like nobody was going to sit in it.
A minute went by.
Two minutes.
Three.
The door was still closed. No person had walked into the room. Nobody had come inside. The room was empty. It was very quiet. Still no one walked in.
The judge tapped his pen on the bench. He was not doing it because he was angry. He was doing it because he was thinking about something. The judge looked at the file in front of him again. Then he looked back at the chair that was empty. The judge was thinking about the case and the empty chair. He tapped his pen on the bench again.
The five minutes are now. The five minutes have come to an end.
The judge sat up in his seat.
The man asked the lawyer to come. The lawyer was told to step by the man. He wanted the lawyer to move forward. The lawyer was supposed to step now.
The lawyer did something. He did it very slowly.
The judge asked if the witness would show up all. This time the witness did not have a traffic problem. The lawyer said he was not really sure. The lawyer spoke carefully and he sounded like he was trying to defend himself. The lawyers words were, about the witness. The witness was the one the lawyer was talking about.
The judge looked at the defendant again. He wanted to see the defendants reaction. The defendant was standing in front of the judge. The judge was thinking about the defendant. What he had done. The judge looked at the defendant. Said something. The defendant listened to what the judge had to say about the defendant.
The mans shoulders were shaking a little. He was taking breaths really quickly. The young man looked like someone who is waiting for news getting ready, for it.
The judge spoke clearly now. The judge said what the judge had to say in a clear voice. The judge wanted to make sure everyone understood what the judge was saying.
The man said that the case would not be able to go on without the witness. He said that what the witness had to say was very important. The man spoke in a voice but you could tell that every word he said really mattered. He made it clear that the witness testimony was something that had to happen it was not something that could be left out.
The lawyer tried to say something back. The lawyer wanted to give an answer to what was said to the lawyer.
The man started talking about the circumstances and the delays and the misunderstandings.
His sentences were all mixed up they overlapped.
The man spoke a lot he said many things.
The man was talking about the circumstances and the delays and the misunderstandings.
The judge raised one hand gently. He did this in a calm way. The judge was being careful, with his movement. The judge wanted to do something without startling anyone.
Silence.
The man asked the defendant a question. He wanted to know something, from the defendant. The defendant was going to have to answer the defendants question. The man was waiting for the defendant to say something.
The man asked if the defendant had been waiting for this witness to tell the truth. He wanted to know if the defendant was waiting for this witness to say what really happened. The defendant and this witness are very important, in this case. The man was wondering if the defendant was waiting for this witness to speak up and tell the truth about what they know.
The young man looked up at the sky. He was a man and he looked up. The young man wanted to see what was there.
His eyes were wet. He nodded slowly. He did not speak at first. Then the man answered softly. Yes. The man said yes to what was asked of the man.
The room felt really heavy. It was like the air, in the room was weighing me down. The room just felt heavy.
The judge stopped talking for a moment.
The man said something that nobody thought he would say. He really surprised everyone with what the man said. The mans words were completely unexpected.
The judge said they would not keep going with the case that day. He wanted to take a look at what the witness said and the evidence that goes along with it. The judge talked about some things that did not add up. He had some concerns about the witness statement and the evidence. The judge did not make any accusations he just had some questions, about the case. He wanted to review the witness statement and the evidence to understand what was going on with the case. The judge had concerns. He wanted to get to the bottom of it.
The lawyer just stopped talking all of a sudden. The lawyer was silent now.
People were talking quietly to each other at first. Then they just stopped. The public did not say anything after that. The public just stayed silent.
The defendant closed his eyes for a moment. It was not relief that he felt. It was like the defendant was, in disbelief. The defendant just could not believe what was happening to the defendant.
The judge stood up. He was the judge. Now the judge is standing. The judge is looking at everyone, in the room. The judge is very serious.
He did not slam anything. He did not raise his voice. The man simply announced that the meeting was adjourned and then he walked out.
The chair was empty. It just sat there. The empty chair remained in the room.
People slowly got to their feet. A few of them talked in tones to each other. The rest of the people stayed seated and just thought about what was happening. The defendant was led away by the police officers. He was still not saying a word but the way he was standing looked different now. The defendant seemed weighed down now.
That day did not end with people shouting or giving out verdicts. That day was really different because the arguing and the verdicts did not happen then. The day just went on without all that yelling and, without anyone saying what was right or wrong.
That thing I was talking about came to an end. It finished with a question. The conversation or story or whatever it was it all ended with a question.
I have a question, about a chair that had nobody sitting in it. This empty chair changed the way everything was going.
And for the people who were there, it was a reminder that sometimes, what is missing in a courtroom matters more than what is said