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Jul 27

Witnesses and Parties Should Be Respectfully Addressed in Court

In court, attorneys should properly refer to the parties and witnesses as “Mr. Smith “ or “Dr. Green” or “Ms. Olivares.”  Lawyers should not refer even to their own clients by just their first names in court.  Attorneys often seem to forget that formality and decorum and politeness (not to mention civility) are both expected in court and necessary to earn the proper respect court proceedings require.  Avoiding use of first names for witnesses and parties was also once a matter of basic civil rights.  Hamilton v. Alabama, 376 U.S. 650 (1964) is also remembered as the “Miss Mary” case.  At the time, black witnesses and defendants in courts in the South were called by just their first names, unlike white people who were referred to as Mr. or Mrs. or Miss. When Mary Hamilton was arrested at a civil rights protest in Alabama in 1963, the prosecutor referred to her as just ‘Mary’ and she refused to answer his questions until he addressed her with the same level of respect that was given to white people. For her impudence, she was charged with contempt, fined $50, and jailed.  Miss Hamilton was allowed out on bond after five days but she refused to pay the fine and appealed her case to the Alabama Supreme Court, which rejected her appeal. The United States Supreme Court in 1964 granted certiorari and summarily reversed the trial court without oral arguments. So, thanks to Mary Hamilton (who died in 2002), now everyone has the right to be addressed respectfully in court by their title and last name.
The opinion of the Alabama Supreme Court in Ex parte Hamilton, 156 So.2d 926 (Ala. 1963)  sets forth what happened when this brave young woman appeared in the trial court:
Q: What is your name, please
A: Miss Mary Hamilton.
Q: Mary, I believe–you were arrested–who were you arrested by
A: My name is Miss Hamilton. Please address me correctly.
Q: Who were you arrested by, Mary
A: I will not answer a question—-
BY ATTORNEY AMAKER: The witness’s name is Miss Hamilton.
A: –your question until I am addressed correctly.
THE COURT: Answer the question.
THE WITNESS: I will not answer them unless I am addressed correctly.
THE COURT: You are in contempt of court—-
ATTORNEY CONLEY: Your Honor–your Honor—-
THE COURT: You are in contempt of this court, and you are sentenced to five days in jail and a fifty dollar fine.

Category:Constitutional Rights, Trial, Witnesses |

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