My Father Mocked Me for Coming to Court Without a Lawyer, But the Judge Opened My File and the Whole Room Went Silent

move in measured lines. Watched attorneys greet one another with the easy familiarity of people who inhabit the same weather system every day. A bailiff had nodded once when I came in, his eyes lingering for half a second on the ribbons over my left pocket. Recognition, perhaps. Or habit. Either way, he didn’t say anything. I preferred it that way.continue reading …