The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1962-03-02
Fridays
Child
BY LAWRENCE MADDRY


i Next to frog-giging and all night
| court for sheer entertainment val
sings you can't beat good day in
Iue. There is more drama, pathos
and comedy in Dare County Re-
corders Court per square inch thar
any institution of its kind, with the
possible exception of the long-de-
parted minstrel.
don't suppose there could be a
more improbable setting for such
a show. The acoustics in the old
courtroom are so poor that fellow
sitting on one of the back rows, in
mid-court, could set off four H
bombs in a sack and nobody would
know the difference; the furnish
ings and color scheme have all the
charm of bus station toilet and
the hand Of man never fashioned
a more uncomfortable seat than the
benches which seem to defy a per-
son to sit down there. Even Sir
Walter Raleigh has an embarrassed
look about the face as he gazes
from his musty frame behind the
bench.
With all its limitations, however,
court has way of making people
feel self conscious that is surpassed
only by a day in church or pro-
posal of marriage. The most cheer
full, happy-go-lucky fellow l know
goes inside the courtroom doors and
changes Immediately. It is awe in
Ispiring to watch the transforma-
ton. First, all evidence of human
kindness disappears from his face
as though his life depended upon
his picking just. the. right one. He
walks on his toes as If quicksand
might lie just ahead and finally sits
down with a studied slowness that
indicates he might break if he tried
it any faster.
My friend seems about typical.
There are other groups which might
be worthy of mention, however.
Basicly they may be divided into
two factions: The coughers and the
shakers. / am cougher myself. l
can eat box of coughdrops, a jar
Of vasoline, have my throat painted
and walk into court in perfect
health before bursting into a hack
ing whoop sufficient to make any
doctor certain that / am in the
throes Of death. My condition is not
to be confused with that of the
nervous coughers, which are a diff
ferent breed altogether. The nerv-
Gus cougher is a specialist who is
not only less noisy, but more in
|clined to punctuate the remarks of
the lawyer with whom he agrees.
1T is an "amen" kind of thing which
resuires years of skill to acquire.
There are some people who become
so proficient in this kind of adj
libbing that they may, on occasion
be superior to the lawyer whom
they accompany. Indeed, have
witnessed many a performance
where / was forced to admit that
the defense was shoddy, but the
coughing superior. This sort of skill
is not for the amateur and several
months of training at P.T.A. meet
in0s and Sunday School is strongly
recommended.
The shakers, while less colorful
or obvious than the cougher have
subtle way about them that is a
joy to behold. The shakers may be
divided into three classifications:
the nose-wipers, the foot-crossers
and the multi-purposed face
scratcher. Everyone, / am sure is
aware Of these three types, but it
lis the face-scratcher to whom credit
lis due. The cleverness by which this
type manages to indicate its appro-
val or disbelief of testimony is UNI
canny. Their ability runs from the
condemnation of an eye rubbing ex-
hibition with head bowed to the
rapt attention of head in hand APP
proval. How many of this type
escaped feature roles in "The Lost
Colony" or missed t.v. is something
II shall never understand.
Most interesting, perhaps, are the
defendants. It is remarkable how
little I am able to determine about
the nature of the crime by watching
the facial reactions of defendants
The most worried face / have de-
ltected in court thus far was that OF
q fellow who had just been charged
! with the heinous crime of having
sold a batch Of unculled oysters. he
had that pale, ghostly appearance
which in akin to stark terror. On
the same afternoon ! watched 9
youth who had been charged with
wreckless driving approach the
bench and dust the bench with his
hand as if he were finger painting
while the Judge pronounced him
guilty. I'm inclined to think that
this condition is attributable, IN
large measure, to the solicitor.
M. .,l;r;hoy. reads the charges