UPDATE: The Hanzman order on lawyers not having to wear suits and ties which is setting the Internet ablaze is below. Also breaking news: Former Judge Jon Colby will be returning Ali-like to the ring/bench to help Judge H adjudicate the Surfside damages awards. And Judge Colby is, like many in this tragic case, donating his time to help get these cases closed and money into the hands of the families.
We have long eschewed forays into Civil Law, feeling lengthy motions to compel answers to a fourth set of interrogatories were just not compelling (bad pun).
But we are rethinking the matter after watching the video of a pretrial hearing in Detroit where a woman was suing a man after a bad first date.
Scroll ahead to about a minute and you will see the whole hearing.
The first issue is communication-good communication is the most important thing in a successful case. Thus the issue of "justiciable" versus "permissible" rears its head as our hero judge tries to patiently explain to the aggrieved plaintiff that her issue isn't justiciable in the court he sits in. But she hears "permissible" (the dangers of pro se reputation) and they are off to the races, including a very long and contentious exchange over what is and what is not perjury.
Query: How many of you robed readers would have tolerated the barrage of "are we done here?" queries from the plaintiff, who was being downright rude. The patience of this Michigan jurist - Herman Marble Jr., rivals that of even our newly sainted civil judge whose "don't let great stand in the way of good" saying is sweeping into the far reaches of the internet.
No matters what happens in this case of the century, Judge Marble is our new breakout star of the summer of 2022. Seemingly unflappable, he handles a contentious plaintiff who he cannot mute on zoom, and an equally sippy clerk who chastises him for not understanding how zoom works And through it all Judge Marble doesn't lose his marbles (we couldn't resist- sorry). Kudos btw to the judge for wearing a face shield in court, although he does take it off at some point. And isn't a messy desk a sign of a busy and happy judge? We think so. Time for some pro hac vice into Detroit- we gotta get into some motions before our new favourite Judge.
Meanwhile what about our defendant? This poor guy just wanted a nice night out. A pizza, maybe a glass of wine, a stroll down by the GM plant, perhaps some canoodling at the end. But what did he get for his erstwhile romantic efforts? A summons and complaint- that's what he got. The dangers of dating in 2022- almost enough to make a Netflix night even more compelling.
So here it is- the case that may finally drag Rumpole into the wilds of civil court- summary judgment, justiciable issues, transfers to different courts, blistering arguments over perjury- bring it on! We are ready.
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