“He was noncompliant.”
The judge spoke.
“Was I under arrest?”
The officer looked toward him.
“No.”
“Detained?”
“You were obstructing.”
“That is not an answer.”
Her face reddened.
The senior marshal looked toward the deputy behind him.
“Notify courthouse security supervisor.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Preserve exterior feeds.”
“Yes.”
“Notify local command.”
“Yes.”
“Do not contact the officer’s body camera.”
The female officer looked down instinctively.
The red light was on.
The judge noticed.
So did the senior marshal.
“Good.”
The officer suddenly became defensive.
“You people are making this into something it isn’t.”
The marshal looked toward her.
“What is it?”
“A security interaction.”
The judge’s eyebrows rose.
The officer continued.
“We have a high-profile federal proceeding today.”
“The sidewalk was becoming congested.”
“He refused direction.”
“He was argumentative.”
The senior marshal looked around.
Congestion?
Two reporters.
A camera operator.
Three pedestrians.
The patrol car itself occupied more pedestrian space than anyone else.
The judge asked:
“Why did you stop me?”
“You were approaching the restricted area.”
“What restricted area?”
She pointed vaguely.
“This zone.”
The judge looked toward the asphalt.
No markings.
No cones.
No tape.
No barricade.
No posted notice.
He looked back at her.
“Where does the zone begin?”
The officer did not answer.
The marshal asked:
“Was a perimeter established?”
She looked at him.
“I was establishing it.”
“With what authority?”
“I was assigned traffic control.”
The marshal’s expression changed.
“Traffic control.”
“Yes.”
“Not courthouse access.”
The officer looked toward the judge.
Then at the marshal.
“I was helping.”
The marshal nodded slowly.
“By slapping the Chief Judge of the United States District Court outside his own courthouse.”
She became pale.
For the first time, the title seemed to reach her fully.
Not lawyer.
Not federal employee.
Not prosecutor.
Chief Judge.
The reporter finally found her voice.
The producer said:
“Keep rolling.”
She did.
The judge looked toward the television crew.
“I assume this is live?”
The reporter nodded.
“Yes, Your Honor.”