Mind Your Manners

When 17 year old Christina Brazier, was found guilty of drug possession in June, State District Judge Lauri Blake gave her probation. One condition of her probation is that the girl not have sex. Other conditions of her freedom are that she not get any new tattoos or piercings, not use tobacco or wear clothing "associated with the drug culture," according to the Dallas Morning News. Such unusual rulings indicate how Judge Lauri Blake is shaking up the "good old boy" legal system in Sherman. The city of about 36,000 people sits about 65 miles north of Dallas and retains the neighborly feel most people associate with a small Texas town.

Judge Blake's strict, no nonsense, by the book, style extends to the lawyers that appear in her courtroom as well. The judge has a dress code for those that come before her bench. Sleeveless shirts are out. Same with cleavage. Strict decorum is expected. No handshake deals. "It used to be like a circus, lawyers milling around," Fannin County District Attorney Richard Glaser told the News. "She makes them sit and come up one at a time." The judge is also not afraid to let attorney's know when she finds theirs manners lacking. "She told me to stand up straight and don't touch the bench," lawyer James A. Fry told the News. "It was like talking to a child." One attorney, David Stagner whose behavior the judge found especially lacking was taken into custody. The judge ordered her bailiff to transport the lawyer to a courthouse holding cell in handcuffs, telling him, "I am not playing games, Mr. Stagner. Now when you decide you have good manners, you may come back." As of yet, Judge Blake has not instituted corporal punishment in her courtroom, but having seen how some attorneys behave, perhaps she should consider it.