The courtroom was really tense before anyone even said a word. People were, on edge. You could feel it in the air. The courtroom just felt uncomfortable like something was about to go in the courtroom.
Nothing big had happened far. There was no yelling. Nobody made any moves. It was just that feeling you get when you know people are looking at you and waiting to see what you do. The defendant was on the part of the screen wearing a green uniform. At first he stood up with his shoulders back and his chin up a little bit. Behind him the people in the section were very quiet. Some of them were leaning forward to get a look. Others would not look at the defendant all. The defendant stood in the section of the screen looking a bit tense. The people, in the section were still very quiet watching the defendant.
The judge was looking at some papers, on the screen. The judge flipped through the file.
Slowly.
Carefully.
That thing alone made people feel really nervous. What I mean is that it made the people nervous. The fact that it happened made the people nervous.
Judges who rush to make a decision are very predictable. On the hand Judges who take their time to think about the decision are not predictable at all. The way Judges make decisions says a lot, about them and Judges who are slow and careful are usually harder to figure out than Judges who rush.
The judge did not look very surprised. His face looked really tired like he had seen the things over and over again but his eyes were still sharp. The judge had seen people behave before. He had heard people make excuses before. This was not something for the judge. However something about this court hearing felt like it was getting close to being, out of control. The judge had dealt with cases before but this one felt like the court hearing was walking toward a line that should not be crossed a line that the judge did not want to see crossed.
The defendant said something. The defendant spoke to the people in the room. What the defendant said was important. The defendant spoke again.
Not loudly. Not aggressively. But casually. Too casually.
It was not what he said it was the way he said it. The tone of his voice had a sense of disregard as if the courtroom was another place he had to get through, not a place that required him to be careful with his words. The lawyer who was standing beside him in the courtroom did not say a word to stop him. The lawyer for the case did not interrupt him. That was the first warning sign that something was not right, with the way he was acting in the courtroom.
The judge stopped turning the pages of the book. The judge was not interested, in reading any more of it. The judge just stopped turning the pages.
The sound or not having any sound all changed the entire room.
The man looked up.
The judge said this behavior is not okay. He said it in a voice that was suddenly a lot sharper. This behavior the judge said, is really not acceptable.
The words were not shouted,. They cut cleanly. People in the room became still. Someone, in the back of the room sat up in their seat. The defendant. Thought for a moment trying to decide if the defendant should say something again or just stay quiet. The defendant. The defendant did not know what to do next.
The person made a choice. He picked something that was not right. The decision he made was wrong.
The person gave an answer. It sounded defensive. This was not needed.
The judges jaw tightened. The judge was really upset. This was clear, from the way the judges jaw was clenched tightly. The judges face showed that the judge was getting angry.
The judge said “You have not shown any respect for the court”. The judges voice was louder now. The judge was still in control. This was not anger, from the judge. The court was just getting tired of waiting for people to listen to the court.
The file that the judge was holding became the thing that everyone in the room was looking at. The judge had this file in his hand. It was, like everything else just stopped. The file was what mattered now.
He picked it up a bit. He did not do this to scare anyone. He did this to show that the conversation was over. The man was saying that they had talked about this topic enough. He wanted to make it clear that the conversation had reached its limit.
The judge said “I am done with this entertainment.”
The sound that came after was not very loud. It was the last sound. The sound was small. The sound was final.
The file is now closed.
It was not slammed violently. The door was shut firmly and deliberately with a motion that said everything without needing to say another word. The sound of paper meeting paper lingered in the air for a time than I thought it would. The paper meeting paper made a sound that lasted longer than expected.
On the part of the screen the defendant just stopped moving. The defendant was not doing anything anymore.
The confidence just seemed to disappear from his body all of a sudden. His shoulders fell down. His eyes looked down at the ground. Whatever he was expecting to happen this was not what he thought it would be. The mans eyes were fixed downward. His shoulders were still dropped, showing that the confidence of the man had really gone down.
The judge pushed his chair back. He got up from the chair. The judge walked away. The judge was clearly done with everything.
The sound really had an impact. That sound carried a lot of weight.
The man stood up. Made sure his robe was straight. He did not look at the defendant again. Then he turned around. Walked away from the bench. There was no banging of the gavel. The judge did not make any announcement. The man just walked away without any ceremony. The judge he just walked away, from the bench.
Just exit.
The courtroom did not react away.
When the person in charge walked out people thought something big would happen. They expected a lot of noise and commotion.. That did not happen. There were no gasps or whispers. Nobody moved. The silence that followed was really heavy. It felt heavier than anything that had been said before. The silence was so strong that it felt like something was going to happen. Nothing did. The person, in charge walking out was a deal and the silence showed that.
The defendant slowly sat down in the chair. The defendant took a moment to get comfortable before the defendant was ready to talk. The defendant was waiting for the question to be asked of the defendant.
He did not do it in anger. He did not do it to protest. He just did it quietly. It was like he finally understood what was happening. The reality of the moment had sunk in. His hands were resting on his knees. His head was still lowered. The people behind him were watching. They did not show any emotion. They were not sure if they had just seen the end of a hearing or the start of something serious. The public was waiting to see what would happen next, with the hearing. The hearing and its consequences were still unclear.
The judge was gone. I mean the judge was really gone. The judge did not come back. I am talking about the judge. The judge was supposed to be but the judge was gone.
The bench looked really empty. It felt like it was supposed to be that way. The bench was empty, on purpose.
Courtrooms are built on structure. When the structure of the courtroom is not followed, even if it is for a little while it can say a lot more than anything the judge says. This was not about punishing people. The courtroom was about setting boundaries for the people, in the courtroom specifically the boundaries of the courtroom itself.
People would talk about that moment on. They would think about the moment, for a time. The moment was something that people would always remember.
People would talk about if the judge was too harsh. If the person on trial should have been given another chance to say what he meant. If the way the judge spoke was not okay.. Those talks should happen outside of the courtroom. The discussion, about the judge and the defendant should take place outside.
The lesson was already taught inside the courtroom. The courtroom is where this lesson was learned.
Misbehavior does not always result in getting punished away. Sometimes it results in something worse. You are left waiting and wondering what will happen. You have to wait for something to happen. The thing is the outcome is no longer something that the person who misbehaved can control. The person has to deal with delay. This is really tough because they do not know what the misbehavior will lead to. Misbehavior can be really bad because it can lead to uncertainty and this uncertainty is what makes it so tough to handle.
The defendant just sat there he figured out late that it would have been better for him to say nothing. The lawyer slowly closed his notes his eyes were fixed on something in front of him. He was already thinking about what he would do next. The people in the courtroom stayed in their seats they were taking in the quiet that followed when the person, in charge decided to leave of talking to the defendant.
The hearing did not end with shouting.
It came to an end, with the withdrawal. The thing that happened was that it finished with the withdrawal.
That thing was really something and it made the whole experience unforgettable. The event was amazing. That made it unforgettable.
When a judge gets up and walks out of the courtroom the courtroom does not follow the judge. The courtroom waits. The courtroom holds the space. The courtroom reminds everyone that respect is not demanded in a voice. The courtroom shows that respect is enforced by the judge being absent.
The file stayed closed. It just would not open. The file remained shut the time.
The bench was empty the time. It just stayed that way. The bench remained empty.
And the message stayed with everyone long after the screens went dark.