Be Cool

I have been bouncing around courtrooms in the George Allen Courts Building (the white structure at 600 Commerce) the last couple of days. Each judge has his or her own rules for cell phones and pagers posted on the courtroom doors. Some say, "No cell phone or pager use." Some...

By Patrick Williams

March 9, 2006

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I have been bouncing around courtrooms in the George Allen Courts Building (the white structure at 600 Commerce) the last couple of days. Each judge has his or her own rules for cell phones and pagers posted on the courtroom doors. Some say, "No cell phone or pager use." Some say, "Your cell phone or pager must be on silent alert. It will be confiscated if it makes a noise." One notice on a courtroom door says, "No cell phones or pagers allowed in the courtroom." Period!

If you go to county Web site and look up the rules for cell phones and pagers, there aren't any.

The most important thing I noticed, however, was this: In the courtroom where the notice on the door said no cell phones or pagers, period, a lawyer was standing in the back of the courtroom yakking on her cell phone right in front of the judge, and nobody said a thing to her.

So the real rule in the Allen Courts Building is the rule of life: If the judge likes you, you're cool. If the judge don't like you, you're a fool. I can live with that. --Jim Schutze

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Patrick Williams is editor-in-chief of the Dallas Observer. Before joining the staff in July 1997, Patrick worked for the Southern Illinoisan, Amarillo Globe News and San Antonio Express-News. As editor-in-chief, he oversees the newsroom and guides the coverage of both the Dallas Observer’s printed publication and online website.

Contact: Patrick Williams