ORDERS IN THE COURT

   Some of our transplanted cops had to deal with culture shock in other ways. Ray Barnett, a graduate of the Pennsylvania State Police Academy and alledged Yankee at the time, found the court system here more than a tad unusual.

  We'll let Ray tell it:  I was testifying about a stop sign violation case and said, "Mr Brown was traveling south on 10th Street and blew the stop sign at 12th Ave No." The Municipal Judge called an immediate recess and called Chief Sam Bass to the court. They took me out in the hallway and said, "we don't talk like that in court."

  My immediate thought was I should have said failed to stop, not blew. Before I could explain, the Judge said, "You never call someone like that, 'Mr.'"

  That meaning Mr Brown was a black man. The Judge and Chief then excused my transgression while I stood there with my mind reeling.
  Never made that mistake again.
 And that was my first impression of the judicial system in Naples. 
  Ray made few mistakes at anything but he did admit to one other. Again, in his words.
  One I'll never forget is when I won a argument with a County Judge. In the dining room at the SO where we took our coffee breaks, the Judge said there was no such charge as drunkeness. I was dumb enough to go get a statue book, bring it into the dining room, and, in front of those in attendance, point it out to him.
 Later that week he had me re-type a search warrant several times before he would sign it. That's when I learned it's not always good to be right. Especially when you're dealing with a super-ego Judge.