Lawyers playing Candy Crush in court

While defending the ‘no cellular phone’ policy in the Magistrate’s Court, Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards today put attorneys on blast for being among the prime offenders.

She accused some lawyers of playing games on their phones while they sit at the Bar table, which is located directly in front of her.

The senior magistrate did not single out any lawyer.

She commented on the attorneys’ non-compliance with the ‘no cellular phone’ policy after a court attendee’s mobile gadget went off inside the courtroom this morning.

The conspicuous vibration from the device caused momentary disturbance. The owner left the courtroom.

“That is why we don’t have cell phones in court – because of people like that and your colleagues at the Bar table who play Solitaire and Candy Crush,” Senior Magistrate Richards told the lawyers in court.

She then noted the ‘no cellular phone’ rule, saying: “The innocent must suffer for the guilty.”

The rule is being enforced at the courts in recent times, and ‘no cellular phone’ signs have been erected at the entrance to the building. Some persons, however, have raised concern that they have nowhere to leave their phones when they travel from their homes to court.