Respect to the Bench?

I was in the open court today. Not that I’m handling any case but just attending a friend’s call to the Bar. I think the last time I was in open court was on my call day nearly 9 years ago. Imagine how fast time flies.

 

But as I was there “enjoying” the speeches for the admission of new advocate and solicitor, the actions of the young lawyers sitting in front of me were just unacceptable and disrespectful to the court. Blatantly they were talking on their other matters and discussing things which are not related to the occasion at all.

 

I also noticed, that these lawyers were junior lawyers may be less than 5 years in practice. They show no respect at all to the court and to me even though I don’t go to court, I still reserve my respect to the bench despite all the things people are saying about the bench.

 

My question here is what happen to the time when people go to court and still have decorum. From their demeanour to what they are wearing. Can you believe me if I say these young lawyers go to court with skirt short enough to entice and long enough just to cover the appropriate parts? To me at least skirt length when your appear before the court must be at least knee length. Not showing more skin than cloth. I believe there’s a dress code issued by the Ketua Pendaftar for lawyers attending court. After that, I don’t care what those people wear. Just when you attend court.

 

I can go on and on about how lawyers behave in court but to me it’s just another way to waste your time. They go on and on complaining about other people especially the court, but lawyers themselves especially those who appear in open court every day should have known better.