Day 4 Thursday Nov. 12
Today is a fantastic day. It is a little warmer, but not a cloud in the sky. We started the day with a little walk and another beautiful breakfast out on the patio.
We met with Norman Kagan today at a beautiful country club. There were attorneys and retired judges/arbitrators present. We gave them a presentation on the different environments a realtime reporter can be used. They had lots of questions and were impressed with our realtime technology. They seemed very anxious to try to get court reporters trained in South Africa.
After lunch at the country club, we went to the High Court of Johannesburg. When we walked in the door, it reminded me of a small-scale Union Station without the murals on the ceiling. The court system is modeled is after the British courts. There are advocates that practice in the high court. The lawyers deal with the clients, and the advocates present the case.
The advocates all wear black robes and cravats as do the judges. The court staff wear robes as well. In criminal court the judge wears a red robe. There are no juries in South Africa. We went into a couple of proceedings. The first was closing arguments. The courtroom was small, but what impressed me is it consisted of several raised levels like in a stadium or movie theater. The well of the court was very recessed. It made viewing much easier than in most courtrooms I’ve been in.
The courtrooms on the lowest floors are much larger and are used for the calendar calls. There are six rows with probably eight seats for attorneys. There is a larger gallery. The wood is a darker wood and the lighting is dim.
We think we have budget problems in the U.S. courts, Norman warned us to use the restroom before we get to the courts. There is no toilet paper, and you are lucky if you find a toilet with a seat. We saw lots of construction going on, so they are working at modernizing the building.
There was a much needed thunder storm late this afternoon. As a desert dweller, I thoroughly enjoyed the claps of thunder, the lightning rods, and the huge rain drops. This was our last night in Joburg. We had another great meal with face painting, singing, and drums at a traditional African restaurant.
We will pack our bags tonight, visit a museum in the morning, and the fly to Cape Town tomorrow afternoon.