Comment by lostdog
1 hour ago
It is because they have power, and want to be addressed this way. And you are likely to lose your case if you don't follow their rules.
1 hour ago
It is because they have power, and want to be addressed this way. And you are likely to lose your case if you don't follow their rules.
On some superficial level, sure: you have to follow the rules because if you don't, it won't end well for you. But the reason for these rules isn't just self-aggrandizement.
Ultimately, the court is there to implement a procedure. The procedure wasn't invented by the judges; in criminal cases, it's there to give you some protection from the rest of the government, which could otherwise use its police powers to put you in prison based on a whim. The protection isn't perfect, but it beats the alternative.
The court would not be able to carry out that procedure if, for example, anyone could just constantly talk over the judges and not let them get a word in. So there is a pecking order in the courtroom, but mostly because you couldn't have courts without it.