Richard Sterling stopped laughing. He frowned, looking Julian up and down. A lawyer? This kid? He looks like he should be serving Richard coffee, not serving him motions. Affirmative action case, Richard thought immediately. Probably went to some online law school.
Fine, Judge Halloway grunted, clearly disappointed he couldn’t have Julian arrested. So, you passed the bar. Congratulations. That doesn’t excuse your disrespect for this institution. You are improperly dressed.
Local rule 4.2 states that counsel must be dressed in professional business attire, Julian said calmly. However, the urgency of the plaintiff’s ex parte motion to expedite this hearing, which was filed at 4:50 p.m. yesterday, made it impossible for me to retrieve my court attire before the 8:00 a.m. start time, unless the court prefers to grant a continuance so I can change. Julian looked at the judge. It was a dare. Delay the case or let me stay.
Halloway knew Sterling wanted this done today. Motion for continuance denied, the judge snapped. We are proceeding. But consider yourself warned, Mr. Banks. One step out of line, one breach of protocol, and I will have you removed. Understood, your honor. Julian sat down. He looked small behind the large oak table.
Richard Sterling buttoned his jacket and walked to the podium. He decided to crush the kid immediately. No mercy. Your honor, Richard began, his voice booming. This case is simple. The defendant, Lucille Banks, does not own the land in question. We have submitted a title search dating back 40 years showing a break in the chain of ownership. The land belongs to the city which sold it to my client. Ms. Banks is a squatter, a trespasser.
We are asking for an immediate order of ejectment. Richard turned to look at Julian, expecting the young man to be frantically shuffling papers. Julian was sitting perfectly still. He wasn’t taking notes. He was staring at Richard.
And Richard added, improvising to humiliate the opponent. Since opposing counsel is new to the profession, perhaps he isn’t aware that without a counter-affidavit filed prior to this hearing, he has no standing to argue facts. He forfeited the case before he even walked in the door. Richard smirked. It was a technical trap. Procedural law 101. If you don’t file the paper denying the facts by the deadline, you lose. Period.
