Naturally, as a judge for close to 15 years hearing cases almost daily, I should know a thing or two about witnesses. Most of them come to court hesitant and afraid and speak with a timorous voice, less in awe of the judge than of the adverse counsel. At one time, a witness, who had skipped breakfast because of stress, fainted in the course of her testimony, which of course I had to suspend to allow my staff to revive her, and which made me resolve thenceforth to keep a bottle of wine or spirits in stock for such an emergency (including the judge’s temporary loss of consciousness because of boredom). At another time, a witness became so agitated that he almost collapsed, forcing me to stop the questioning and to ask for less truculence from the lawyer and more consideration for the man’s age and physical state (the poor man died soon after that — in a hospital, not in the courtroom).
When a person charges another with a violation, he should not rely only on his own verbal assertion, because, if the other side likewise depends on personal statement, the judge would have to weigh the words of one against the other, which is a most difficult task. Might this not be the reason why Jesus requires that, when someone has sinned against another, and the former refuses to be corrected, the latter should confront him with one or two witnesses?
Matthew writes:
“If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
“If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
“If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
“Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.”
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Of course, truth is not that which people agree on, or else it amounts to no more than popular acclaim. Truth is not necessarily the common good. It does not mean that, if people come together, they automatically possess it. Truth is a gift promised by God, which is certainly given if one or two agree to ask for it of the Heavenly Father.
Which was why when I made my decisions, I made it a point to pray for light, to ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit. The testimony that comes out of a witness’ mouth will always fall short of the truth if not in accord with his heart, if it does not result in the inner singing of his conscience. This was what I meant when I wrote this poem:
JUSTICE ASPIRES TO THE CONDITION OF MUSIC
In court my gavel is authority.
Whenever I bang it, all noise ends.
I sent two women out who talked too loudly
And warned a lawyer when his cellphone rang.
If both the truth and the lie were a pin
Dropped in the courtroom, I would like to hear it.
Its ting might be the small, still voice of justice.
So just imagine my shock when one morning
While the accused was insisting that he
Was somewhere else on the night of the crime,
From a tree outside came the trill of birdsong
So sweet that we all looked at where it came from,
And the complainant felt set to forgive
And I, the useless gavel in my hand,
Yielded the moment to a better witness.
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