# Why do we stand up for judges when they enter court? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488 "2022-01-27T13:34:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/61 "2022-01-28T21:57:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Otherwise, I imagine that the camera is going to be pointed at your crotch or your abdomen when you stand. We had a camera a bit further away and set up a podium. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/62 "2022-01-28T21:59:12Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > We had a camera a bit further away and set up a podium. In other words, you _always_ need to have your pants on. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/63 "2022-01-28T22:16:40Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Wow, even in our Federal Court (typically way more formal) the Judge didn’t seem to care. I sat throughout the whole trial. I practiced standing up, but it felt funny. I suppose you can get used to it. You are probably on the judge’s good/bad list by now… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/64 "2022-01-28T22:25:05Z")
Just tabs, long-sleeved waistcoat and robes. No wig. Sent you a clip a few years ago, remember? 😀 (Oh, and pants and shoes and all the other bits as well. But no wig.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/65 "2022-01-28T22:28:44Z")
But if you’re wearing robes, who’s to know whether you’re wearing trousers or even pants? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/66 "2022-01-28T22:29:32Z")
They don’t button in front and end below your knees. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/67 "2022-01-28T22:33:01Z")
I know it. I hike around that part of town from time to time. Tripler The curriculum always interested me. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/68 "2022-01-28T22:38:02Z")
I always thought we stood up, because the Judge stood up, in a mutual “We-All-Have-Pants” Verification Ceremony to open the Court. [This guy](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13599320) apparently bucked that legal tradition, and is now doing time in jail for indecent exposure due to his own _No Pants Party._ Tripler He gave new meaning to “_All rise!_” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/69 "2022-01-28T22:57:35Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > They don’t button in front and end below your knees. You’re wearing the robe wrong. You’re supposed to put it on so it opens in the back like a hospital gown. (And still, as always, you’re not supposed to ever turn your back on the judge.) ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/70 "2022-01-29T13:09:15Z")
I think it was Flip Wilson who said “Here comes the judge” on Laugh-In. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/71 "2022-01-29T13:14:32Z")
Sammy Davis Jr as well. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/72 "2022-01-29T13:15:17Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Has anyone ever used that phrase in a manner actually intended to convey some level of respect, or do folk just use it to signal that they feel the person addressed is “due” no respect? I always use it in the former sense, usually when talking with someone I consider a peer, but still wrong. I don’t recall ever saying “with all due respect” to someone I didn’t have respect for. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/73 "2022-01-29T13:56:04Z")
Yeah - I remembered. Sorry I didn’t look it up. The longer I’ve done this gig, the less I am impressed w/ the “formalities.” IMO, people show respect by the content of their presentation/preparation. Not by what they wear or their specific word choice. (Well, preferably no shorts and flip flops, and keep the cusswords to a minimum.) > [@El\_DeLuxo](#): > > I always use it in the former sense, usually when talking with someone I consider a peer, but still wrong. … For my taste, I’d rather someone just say, “I disagree” or some variant. Whether or not we respect each other is adequately demonstrated by the entirety of our interaction. In legal proceedings, lawyers are often making their “best argument.” With little regard to “right or wrong”. They are simply saying they WANT you to view things their way. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/74 "2022-02-19T13:03:16Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > For my taste, I’d rather someone just say, “I disagree” or some variant. Whether or not we respect each other is adequately demonstrated by the entirety of our interaction. Fair enough, but sometimes things get heated. A kind word sometimes disarms that tension. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > In legal proceedings, lawyers are often making their “best argument.” With little regard to “right or wrong”. They are simply saying they WANT you to view things their way. Of course. I’m not there as an amicus. I am advocating for a client, even if I personally think the other side has the better of it. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488/75 "2022-02-19T16:54:53Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Of course. I’m not there as an amicus. I am advocating for a client, even if I personally think the other side has the better of it. Sure. But unless you are a public defender or something, you choose which clients to represent in which actions. And you are doing so in the pursuit of personal profit. If you have a weak case, just make your best case. But don’t act all righteous about it. One of the most challenging things I had to learn as a judge was to not engage with attys who were presenting BS arguments. Because it would only frustrate me when they would fail to respond to a direct question, or respond w/ more BS. Just let them have their say, and then issue whatever decision I think appropriate. If a rep generally presents garbage in case after case before me, it makes it challenging to realize that they might actually be making sense in a subsequent case. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-stand-up-for-judges-when-they-enter-court/958488.md?page=3)