MARTINEZ, SHEILA MAY M.

The Court Room

As Judge Amor Reyes of RTC Manila said ‘all rise’ inside the court room, I
felt the eerie of power and sincerity surrounding the room.

When we entered the court room, counsels were discussing as if they were
just drinking coffee with their colleagues. I cannot see any sign of nervousness.
One lawyer asked us why we were there. We answered promptly but I was
surprised when he laughed and said that we would not understand what they were
going to talk about because we are just first years. He further said that we need to
have civil procedure or criminal procedure subjects for us to understand what is
happening inside the room. I felt the tone of boastfulness while he was talking.
That was the time when I remember what my former professor shared in our class.
He said that one of the characteristics of most lawyers is being proud and boastful.
It is not a bad thing though because they already reached that level and they have
the right to be proud of it.

Anyway, moving on, we did not expect the room to be so small. The room
looks like a stock room with just three long benches. It is filled with boxes and
bunches of papers. At first, I thought that it was unbelievable to call that room a
court room. But when the hearing already started, when the Judge and the lawyers
already spoke, the room was filled with integrity. The room was then filled with
critically-thinking people who gave the court room its true purpose – to render
justice.

Both civil and criminal cases were heard inside Judge Amor’s court room
and that was an overwhelming experience for all of us especially when we took a
picture with Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta when she dropped by the room.