Not Quite "Night Court"

I think my most-recent favorite court moment was when I was talking to a box full of 30 guys who were waiting for us to convey pleas to them and/or set their cases for trial. 

There are four (sometimes 5) people from the public defender's in the courtroom and normally 30-50? brand new clients to meet per day.  When our clients are led in (before the judge takes the bench) we give them a little speech about who we are, what's going on, and tell them standard things that nearly all of them will need to know.

So (pretty tired from the day before) on this particular morning I closed the speech with, "Today I have everyone who has a last name between M and R.  If your last name starts with the number M, N, O, P, Q, or R, raise your hand." 

One guy chirps up, "Hey Mr. Defender, those are letters, and my last name starts with the letter M."  There are a few snickers, a few chuckles, and a pause, so I respond with, "Thanks - I can see you're an intelligent guy, so I'm talking to you first."  Laughs and groans from other guys who had raised their hands and would now be waiting.  One guy tosses this one out there - "I knew they were letters - can you talk to me next?"

**
Also, while I've been correctly identified as working for the public defender (technically I'm a CLI - certified legal intern, pending the FL bar's final stamp of approval) by people who have just started talking to me, I've not yet had anyone *ask* if I work for the PD. 

Instead, every week I have at least 3 people (usually civilians wandering into the courtroom) ask me if I'm working "for the state," or if I "am the prosecutor," or if I am a private attorney.  Last week a woman said - "Thank you for talking to me - are you a lawyer or are you a public defender?"

I'll either have to bring back the mustaches or let the sideburns go extra bushy.

Comments

[Rebecca]

I have certainly never associated you with "the man," but upon consideration I can see how if I didn't know you I might mistake the steely gaze and thin-lipped confidence for one of the sincerer law enforcement types. Sideburns would help.

[Brotherman]

One of the things I tell the client when they start that crap is to tell them that this is the greatest job anyone can have. How many jobs do you get where you get paid to frustrate what the people are paying you are trying to do? If you work construction, would you be employed if you knocked down the main beams when it was built? The State tries to put them in jail, and you get paid to keep them from doing it. Sounds like fun to me.