07/11/2025
The judge nodded, then did something no one in the courtroom had ever seen.
It was the hardest part of the trial. 5-year-old Anna was the only witness to the domestic violence that had put her mother in the hospital. Now, she was in a large, intimidating courtroom, and her father was staring at her from the defendant's table.
She refused to move. She just hid behind the prosecutor, shaking. "I can't," she cried. "He'll see me."
The prosecutor was about to ask for a recess when the judge, a man known for his stern demeanor, called for a brief pause. He stepped down from his high bench, walked over to the little girl, and knelt.
"What's your name, sweetheart?" he asked, his voice suddenly soft.
"Anna," she whispered.
"Well, Anna, I'm Judge Marcus. This is my courtroom, and in here, I'm the boss. And my number one rule is that no one gets to be scary in here. Not even him. I won't let him."
He pointed to the witness stand. "That chair looks big and lonely, doesn't it?" She nodded. "How about," he said, "you and I go sit up there together? You can sit on my lap. I'm a good shield."
He held out his hand. She took it.
The judge sat in the witness stand, holding Anna securely in his arms, his black robe acting like a protective cape. Shielded by the one man in the room more powerful than her father, she finally found her small, brave voice and told the court what she saw.