The Defendant's Cage in the KROK Courtroom

Historically in Europe the Defendants in criminal trials would be required to sit in a cage in the courtroom. In England these cages would sometimes have subterranean staircases so that the prisoner would not even be able to walk to the cage, but would be led up from the depths. Of course, in the American view the cage is highly prejudicial to the Defendant's right of the presumption of innocence, and is not used. I don't believe that the Ukrainian courts actually use the cage anymore, but it was formerly in use. There is an old mock trial courtroom in the law school at the University of Economics and Law (also known as "KROK") with a prisoner's cage. It was suggested that I sit in the cage for a picture, which is at left. The young woman next to the cage is Ludmilla, one of the outstanding law student presenters from today.

The Apartment Entrance

I am staying in a one bedroom apartment overlooking the Lva Tolstovo Plaza, where there is an entrance to one of the main Metro stations. The apartment is entered through a nondescript and rather imposing iron door at 23A. The apartment is on the fourth floor of this building (the numbering starting on the second floor above ground). I have noticed that there is the Latin lettered word "Notar" cast in bold letters in the transom of the doorway, and, indeed, there is a Notary (I think this is some legal-related function--I'll have to look it up when I have a minute) on the second floor. I am interested, however, as to why the name appears at street level in Latin rather than Cyrillic characters. I have no answer, unless the Latin characters conveyed some special prestige or cachet to an esoteric function, much like the way Norman-French was used by lawyers in England.

Inside the iron door (accessed with a special pass code, which probably hasn't been changed for years) is a rather spartan landing, with staircases and galleries spiraling overhead for five stories.

Over the Darkened Sea--Atlanta to Vienna

My layover in Atlanta was tedious, and I was very anxious by the time I boarded the plane for the trans-Atlantic crossing about sundown. By the time we had taxied to the runway and waited in line, it was pitch dark. Until sunrise I didn't see a thing. Our flight took us over New England, the

Canadian Maritime Provinces, and the North Atlantic. Immediately after takeoff, the flight attendants served dinner. After that I decided that I would try to get a head start on overcoming the jet lag and go to sleep. The inflight movie, "Mr. Bean's Vacation," did not interest me in the least. There was, however, a young mother with two very active sons across the aisle who were enthralled. I used my earplugs, and the airline provided two pillows, a blanket and a eye mask. I slept almost the entire night until sunrise, awaking only briefly while we were over the North Atlantic, and imagined that cold dark water 30,000 feet below us.

I awoke when there was just the faintest hint of a sunrise on the eastern horizon. We were over England by now, and the rest of the trip over Europe was spectacular. We arrived in Vienna at about 9:50, Vienna time.