On September 11, 2001, I had a late start in Court, so I decided to stop by the local Legion Club for a cup of coffee and a little conversation before heading to the Courthouse. The television over the bar showed a familiar building with smoke billowing out of it. “An airplane hit the World Trade Center,” I was told. An accident? No one knew.
As I was
drinking coffee and conversing with friends, an exclamation came from the television
area – “Another one hit the other building!” The apparent became obvious: this was no accident.
Along with
the rest of the country, I walked through the next week in a daze. Put a flag pin on my lapel. Put a small flag out of the backseat window
of my car. Prayed for my children and my
country.
Politicians
called for new laws requiring the Pledge of Allegiance to be recited in schools
across the land.
I suppose a
couple of weeks had passed when I realized I didn’t need a statute or anyone’s
permission to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the day in
Court. I could just do it!
So, I tried
it. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” I
said as I walked up to my place on the bench.
“I’d invite you to remain standing and join with me as we open court by pledging
allegiance to our Nation’s flag.” I
turned and faced the flag and began. And
the people in the courtroom joined in.
It was
uncomfortable that first time. For the
first several weeks, in fact. Doing
something different. Doing something few,
if any, of my colleagues were doing.
As I went
to different courthouses and started opening court the same way, I eventually
got used to the surprised looks and the occasional smirk. I started to receive occasional thanks for
the new ritual. One lawyer who appeared
before me was a semi-regular guest on a local radio show and talked about the
Pledge on the air.
I had a few
folks who said they didn’t like it and were uncomfortable with the
practice. One attorney simply stayed out
of the courtroom until court was open and the Pledge had been recited.
Now, more
than ten years later, starting court in this way is second nature. Rarely, I’ll be distracted as I go onto the
bench and just sit down – until I see the bailiff, clerk and court reporter are
standing with their hands on their hearts, waiting. I stand again, and thank them for the
reminder, and pledge allegiance to our country so that court may properly be
brought to order.
And so we
may, for a brief moment, reflect on the marvel of this Country which
offers access to its justice system to all.
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Next week: Undocumented
