An American court of law is in many ways un-American. In our everyday lives we Americans celebrate the subversion of the social order; everywhere a visitor to our country looks he will find a poor American boy trying to make good, usually with the encouragement of his society. An American courtroom is designed first and foremost to preserve the social order, to keep the poor boy down. The judge sits on a raised dais from which he can condescend to the lawyers, the lawyers stand up so that they may condescend to the seated witness, and the witness, though he may have no one to whom he can plausibly condescend other than perhaps the curiosity seekers on the hard benches at the back of the room, at least has the comfort of his upholstered chair. If anyone dares to step the slightest bit out of line, a large man emerges from the back to shout, 'Order in the court!' If the judge decides he needs to relieve himself, the large man appears again to shout, 'All rise!' And everyone in the room stands and waits stupidly until the judge has ambled off to pee. There is not a 'please' or a 'thank you' or a 'by your leave' in any of this. Our democracy’s system of justice is a feudal society in miniature."

From THE NEW NEW THING, By Michael Lewis W. W. Norton & Company | Lewis is also the author of many other acclaimed books, such as The Blind Side and Moneyball.