Courting

Today I visited the Sessions Court for the first time with my master. It was a hearing for an application for leave to enforce judgment against the defendant.

We were acting for the plaintiff. Walking into the courtroom was not as scary as I thought it would be. But then again, I deal only with the Civil Courts and I risk no injury from violent criminals. I mainly just need to fear the judges. (which may be worse. Ooo I can just hear the echoes reverberating…contempt of court.)

There is no glamour in the local courts (except perhaps for the Federal Court at the Palace of Justice at Putrajaya) and rightly so. Lawyers in their dark suits loitering on the old long dark corridors, boy, those who chose to do law after watching LA Law and Ally Mcbeal must feel so disillusioned.

I got to witness a judge giving a lawyer a good scolding. I felt so sorry for her. In all honestly though, it could have been avoided if she did her research well enough and actually answered the judge with what she wanted to know as oppose to hedging the issue. Poor thing.

Oh by the way, the proceedings are in Malay. It was not as difficult as I imagined it to be although I was quite stumped with the terminology. English is still used in the lower courts but lawyers can only resort to it if the judge reverts to English first. Alternatively you can ask the court for leave to speak in English and pray that it be granted.