Thursday, September 27, 2007
SCIENCE!
My daughter asked me to help her design a T-shirt for her Science Club and this is what I came up with.
She'll never forgive me....
Hey, all intellectual rights reserved. Send me a check if you want to use it.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
BAR
Catching the Sunday News story on the Bar exams, my wife asked me the reason for its unique name. After all, not every government administered examination has a special nickname all its own.
If you visit a properly furnished courtroom, you will notice that there is a bar that separates the public (the gallery) from the lawyers and the judge. This emphasizes that the public, while free to witness the proceedings, takes no part and should respect the trial process (mostly by remaining silent).
When one passes the Supreme Court administered examinations, he becomes a lawyer who is entitled to participate in his case and enter the area he was previously excluded from. Thus, he may be said to have "passed the bar". Hence, the "Bar Examinations".
Well, now you've learned two parts of a courtroom. Here are a few other parts:
The "Dock" - The area where prisoners are held while waiting for their case to be called. Usually a bench at the same side of the exit to help facilitate their escape.
The "Bench" - Where the judge sits, although called the bench, it is usually the most comfortable seat in the room. Surprisingly, the "bench" also includes his table.
The "Sidebar" - In early courtroom designs, the "bar" was usually "U"- shaped, so that it extended to the side of the bench where some of the gallery could actually sit. When a judge would call lawyers to confer on matters that were not fit to be made of record, he called them close to the bench in an area at the "side of the bar". It now refers to the area immediately in front of the bench where the judge and lawyers have their "sidebar" sometimes called a "sidebar conference".
If you visit a properly furnished courtroom, you will notice that there is a bar that separates the public (the gallery) from the lawyers and the judge. This emphasizes that the public, while free to witness the proceedings, takes no part and should respect the trial process (mostly by remaining silent).
When one passes the Supreme Court administered examinations, he becomes a lawyer who is entitled to participate in his case and enter the area he was previously excluded from. Thus, he may be said to have "passed the bar". Hence, the "Bar Examinations".
Well, now you've learned two parts of a courtroom. Here are a few other parts:
The "Dock" - The area where prisoners are held while waiting for their case to be called. Usually a bench at the same side of the exit to help facilitate their escape.
The "Bench" - Where the judge sits, although called the bench, it is usually the most comfortable seat in the room. Surprisingly, the "bench" also includes his table.
The "Sidebar" - In early courtroom designs, the "bar" was usually "U"- shaped, so that it extended to the side of the bench where some of the gallery could actually sit. When a judge would call lawyers to confer on matters that were not fit to be made of record, he called them close to the bench in an area at the "side of the bar". It now refers to the area immediately in front of the bench where the judge and lawyers have their "sidebar" sometimes called a "sidebar conference".
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