We think of pomp and magnificence and
purple robes, of kings on their thrones, with courtiers standing
about. The conception of Diety to the simple man who visualizes,
immediately takes on the form of a court. We speak of the Courts of
Heaven. The pictures of Godhead represent him as sitting in the center
on his raised throne with the surrounding tiers of attendant angels.
The modern court-room is only an adapted continuation of a medieval
idea. On the raised dais under an unsanitary and dusty canopy of green
plush sits the judge; instead of a sceptre he holds the gavel. This
gavel, by the way, is falling more and more into disuse. As a symbol
of authority, a little wooden hammer has become a trifle ludicrous. If
a judge were to shake it too violently there might be a fear on the
part of those watching that he was about to throw it at the spectators
or at one of the arguing lawyers.
The judge sits at an imposing high-railed desk with standard lights at
either corner. The top of the desk is usually above the level of the
eyes even of the lawyer standing. This is an arrangement which is
conventional and convenient; it would not be consistent with the
majesty of the law if the judge should be discovered writing a
personal note or taking a glance at the stock market reports in the
evening paper.
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