Court is in Session

I really ought to write a book.

Whenever I go into housing court, I always come away with something. I will save the major descriptions of the housing court system for the book ( i need to keep your appetites whetted) but I will tell you this story that happened this week.

I was in the courtroom of a judge who I have never previously appeared before. I had no idea of her personality whatsoever.

Now each courtroom is populated by its own cast of characters. There is a court officer, clerk, law secretary, and sometimes other officious looking people whose job descriptions elude me.

However, in Manhattan in particular, the overriding jobs of all these people is to scream at you.

Some are more relaxed, others raise it to an art form, but I always wondered where they get their cue from.

So here's the scenario. I am sitting in the courtroom for 20 minutes waiting to get something signed. The entire time, the staff behind the bar is shouting out things at people, but the Judge is silent. signing things, reading, stuff like that.

Finally, the judge calls a case. Two tenants get up, say its their case, and one goes into the hall to get the lawyer. After he calls the lawyer to come in, the two of them go up to the table in front of the judge.

This judge, obviously a very busy person, when she did not have people immediately ( within 10 seconds) show up when she called the case, went back to reading other court documents. She then looked up at the two tenants now standing in front of her and said, quite snidely " I didn't tell anyone to come up here." So the two gentlemen went back behind the bar to wait to be called.

As they were standing there, the lawyer for the Landlord they had informed that the case ad been called came in, and assuming that, as there was no one else in front of the judge, his case was up, went past the bar to the table. The judge looks up again and says ( same voice as before) " I didn't call anyone up here. I called the case, no one came up, so I went on to other things".

The attorney, and old pro at this attitude, smartly retreated and apologized to the judge. He was standing at the bar with the two tenants, (I assume figuring that as soon as the judge finishes whatever she is doing, and feels that they have been suitably chastised for making her wait they will be the next case up.) when the clerk looks up and shouts at them " WHY ARE YOU STANDING?? FIND SEATS!"