Friends,
Like many of you, I go nowhere without my water bottle. In fact, when playing golf I even take it with me from the golf cart to the putting green in fear that I may get dry mouth and need a sip before the foursome finishes putting and I can get back to the cart. At the airport, I wait until the last moment in the security line before I discard my bottle, and then I hurry to the first little store to buy a new one.
I am back to work as a criminal defense lawyer and because I cannot speak for long without taking a sip,of course I carry the bottle into every courtroom I enter. Occasionally I have run into judges or bailiffs that tell me that no drinks are allowed. I always explain that it is for medical reasons, and that is usually enough to satisfy the judge, and I am allowed to keep my water. Ironically I can go into a big, impressive federal court, and it is usually no problem, because they often have pitchers and glasses on the tables and expect people in court to drink. Usually the less important the court, the bigger the problem with water.
Anyway, about a month ago, I appeared in a court in a suburban county a half hour away from Houston. This judge runs a particularly authoritarian courtroom. As I sat in the benches waiting for docket call, a bailiff came up and told me to take my water outside. I explained that I needed it for medical reasons. Once again, he ordered me to take the water out. I even pulled out a letter from my oncologist at MD Anderson stating that I needed water to function. At this point the guy rudely ordered me out of the courtroom in front of defendants, other lawyers and my client, making it pretty clear that he would forcibly remove me if necessary.
I had to wait in the hall until my client's case was called. When I approached I told the judge that I needed the water for medical reasons and he just kind of shrugged.

Well, later I decided to do a little research on the Americans With Disabilities Act and I wrote a letter to the judge and the sheriff of the county, explaining that the Act applies to state and local governments and that if they ever messed with me again, I will file a civil righs complaint with the United State's Department of Justice under the act. After all this is a legitimate disability and I am sure that they would not tell a person with a cane to leave the cane outside.
When I next appeared in that court and went to the judge's office before court to make sure there was no problem, I was told by the judge's secretary that " the problem has been taken care of. " A couple of days later I got the nicest letter from the chief deputy of the sheriff's office apologizing for the behavior of his bailiffs and assuring me that next time they will know how to properly deal with the situation, ie. if someone tells them that he has a medical problem...they will let the judge know rather than kick them out.

Oh well, a day in the life of a trial lawyer with the dry mouth!

Danny G.

LOL! You may be in TX and I may be in IN, but I just know this would happen in some of our smaller county courts here. Good for you for educating them

You don't need to discard the water bottle at airport, just the water -- Empty bottle goes through security OK and you refill from drinking fountain inside security zone -- I have a favorite bottle and that's what I do.

Danny:

Thanks for the interesting post. Some people just like to throw their weight around. You are correct about the Americans with Disabilities Act, making it ok for you to have the water bottle. There are all kinds of disabilities out there. Some we see and many others we cant always identify. Glad everything turned out ok and you got a nice letter of apology.

I dont carry a water bottle but do take a McDonalds sweet tea with me to many places. One time I carried it into the movies without thinking. The manager asked me to discard it. I quietly told them I was a cancer patient and needed it, they said "sorry, no problem, go right ahead and take it in with you". They were very nice about the whole situation.

Now if you can just get us through the stupidest of all possible encounters- the airline TSA ban on bottled water. I have to throw my water away on the way into the line (which can take 30 min + to get through at LAX), then when I have my shoes (another stupid thing) back on and my stuff all put back together, rush to a store for the privilege of paying 3.50 for a new bottle of water.... which I might add is delivered in cases to the store without any inspection process at all. A terrorist could have an accomplice put a bottle of whatever it is they are afraid of in the shipment to the terminal store, and have the terrorist buy that bottle once in the terminal and carry it on the plane. No letter of necessity has ever allowed me to get past TSA and the micro brains that are inspecting children, old ladies and me. I even wear my ATP Pilot tarmac pass on my shirt (I am a commercial pilot) and I can't past this BS.

Maybe when they are asking you to dispose of the water, you could accidently TRIP and get them a nice fresh shower Brian.

My water bottle has a place beside my feet at church on sundays. I just sip it to keep moist. They all know why I do it . Nice people and all like to talk to you. Then that gorgeous one comes in and makes the morning.

Brian,
The same letter that refers to the water also says that I need Boost for nutrition. TSA won't let me on with water since I can buy some in the airport, but TSA just about always lets me on with a couple of bottles of Boost, after they read the letter. Once or twice they wanted to test it and I refused to allow it, before a supervisor let me pass. My punishment one time was to be hand searched...which made no sense at all.Another time I brought up the American with Disabilities Act and they let me pass. Most times, however, the TSA person just reads the letter, looks at the Boost and lets me go without a problem.
Unlike many of us who have had to drink nutrition drinks, I still like the taste of Boost and I keep it in my office and in my golf bag for a quick, easy to swallow snack when I feel hungry.

Danny G.

well... I am not sure if they still confiscate laser pointers. First time that happened (BC) to me I was pretty flabbergasted, to put it mildly. Slice the plane in half? Cauterize a bunch of Ewoks, eh passengers? Probably they have seen too many Starwars reruns... (Luke come over to the dark side).
To be honest I would, not want that job!!

M

I do a few court appearances a year as an expert witness and 2 years ago when I was very dependent on my water bottle especially when I have to talk a lot, I got all the way to the court room with my water bottle (the entrance guards did make me empty the bottle but let me carry the empty in and I filled it up at a water fountain). Once inside the court room I was told that I couldn't take it with me to the witness stand. I then had to apologize or explain my dry mouth speech as I didn't want that to be interpreted as nervousness. Wish I had known about using the ADA. To this day I remember how embarrassed they made me feel, not to mention how ineffective I felt with my DM testimony. My client prevailed so na na na naaa.