Spend a lot of time in court, not -- thankfully -- as a defendant, but as a journalist covering the proceedings of Floyd's Circuit Court.

Like most courts, Floyd's starts with a ritual: the judge enters and the baliff -- in our case a deputy sheriff, announces:

Oh yes, oh yes, silence is commanded upon pain of imprisonment while the Circuit Court of Floyd County is in session. God bless the Commonwealth and this honorable court.

Ouch! Pain of imprisonment? Yep. If you bring a cell phone to court and it rings, you can be arrested and the phone confiscated. Same for a pager. In some area courts, those attending court sessions are told to turn off pagers and cell phones. In Floyd, attendees are told to leave both in their cars.

Now, if we could just get the same rule of law applied to use of cell phones in restaurants, movie theaters, grocery lines and anyone attempting to drive a car.