by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
In the public mind, the judge’s gavel is the primary instrument of discipline in the courtroom.
For those that learned their jurisprudence from late–night reruns of Perry Mason, disorderly behavior in the courtroom must always be answered by the red-faced judge swinging the wooden mallet.
But those hoping to see a judge pounding the bench would be better served to turn on “L.A. Law” than to visit the Duval County Courthouse. Judges there said they haven’t brought the hammer down in years. Some said they’ve never used their gavel.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever used one,” said Circuit Court Judge Henry Davis, who’s been on the bench since 1992.
“The only one I have is the one I was given when I took the bench, and I usually leave it in my office. If I hit it I’d probably break it.”
Davis said the threat of being held in contempt of court — and the accompanying jail time — generally keeps people in line in his court. “Once you tell them they could spend 180 days in jail, they usually fall into line pretty quick,” he said.
Circuit Court Judge Charles O. Mitchell said a judges’ raised voice or a couple of raps on the bench with an open hand usually brings all eyes to the front.
“It stings a little bit, but it was effective. Oh yes, it was effective,” he said with a chuckle.
In his 26–year career on the bench, Mitchell said he’s observed seven or eight incidents that made him wish he had the hammer in hand. He said lawyers are a little less civil to each other than when he first presided, but said a raised voice is usually sufficient to deal with the occasional agitated attorney.
Courtroom clerk Diane Akins said Mitchell isn’t the only judge who substitutes their hand for the mallet.
“Buddy, they will do some knockin’,” she said. “That’s all they need to get the court’s attention.”
Maybe they’re trying to save tax dollars. Purchasing technician Debra Marchant said the Court’s gavel expenses have shrunk to $228 a year. That works out to one a month at $19 a pop, including the pedestal that catches the blows.
Marchant did say she’s seen a mysterious “rash” of gavel replacements recently. But she attributed the increased orders to normal wear and tear rather than a dip in judicial demeanor.
Congressional records trace the use of gavels back to 1789, when Vice President John Adams used a mallet carved from ivory to call the Senate to order. That gavel lasted until 1954 when it disintegrated during hearings on atomic energy. Those meetings were presided over by then Vice President Richard Nixon, who apparently never considered Judge Mitchell’s open-hand trick.
In Florida’s modern courtrooms, the gavel still falls to begin and end a session, but it’s usually the bailiff or the clerk doing the swinging.