Okay... so the title of this post is partly borrowed but it was a good excuse for using the word Asshat in my the heading. I found a link to How Not To Be An Asshat in The Courtroom written by Michael Mortimer of the Business Litigation Group in 1996, also reprinted in Plaintiff Magazine in 2008. Besides using a word (Asshat) that I find pretty darn funny, the article is really good. I also discovered an analogous relationship between courtroom and classroom behavior. I encourage everyone to read this, especially the heading "Know When to Shut Up" which is particularly important in both court and class. One of my professors (Mr. Payne) has been trying to drill into our heads since the beginning of the program to think of being in class akin to being in court. Things you wouldn't do in court, you don't ever do in class. Clothes you wouldn't wear to court, shouldn't be worn to class. Cell phones, gum chewing, excessive paper shuffling, whispering, etc. are grounds for contempt in his classroom. He's a pretty intimidating old crust of a lawyer and so I have yet to see anyone call his bluff. We see him as The Judge, and treat his class like court. I personally like it this way. I have other classes / professors who are very lenient about the very things that Mr. Payne finds contemptible and those classes don't flow nearly as well, with students violating pretty much every rule of court especially the rule of knowing when to shut-up.
If you haven't been to court I suggest you go. I've been to court a few times; jury duty, my kid's speeding tickets, and one criminal matter in which a family member was a victim. You can learn a lot from just observing traffic court. Pay particular attention to what defendants wear to court. You won't believe your eyes. Read the article linked above before you go, then just sit quietly in the back and act like you're supposed to be there. And don't be an Asshat.
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