Court is Now in Session_Case019

Case No. 019

The People v. "Do Not Disturb."

Court Clerk:

"All rise!"

"This Honourable Court is now in session. The Honourable Justice Common Sense presiding."

Judge:

"Be seated."

"Bailiff, what is the matter before the Court?"

Bailiff:

"The People have brought a case concerning the accused's repeated refusal to receive communication, My Lord."

The Judge looks towards the prosecution.

"Repeated refusal?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Is the accused a person?"

"No, My Lord."

The Judge pauses.

"What is the accused?"

"A phone setting."

The Judge leans back.

"Proceed."

Court Clerk:

"Case No. 019."

"The People versus 'Do Not Disturb.'"

Charge: Unauthorised Interruption of Communication, Aggravated Notification Suppression, Selective Unavailability, and Abuse of a Technological Feature for Personal Convenience.

Prosecutor:

"Ready for the People, My Lord."

Counsel:

"Ready for the Defence."

Judge:

"Bring in the accused."

The accused is brought into the courtroom.

It is Mr. Do Not Disturb.

The Judge looks at him.

Then at the prosecution.

Then back at him.

"Mr. Do Not Disturb..."

"Yes, My Lord?"

"You look familiar."

"I am activated on millions of devices, My Lord."

"That is not a defence."

The gallery laughs.

The Judge raises his gavel.

"Proceed."

 

The Case for the Prosecution

Prosecutor:

"My Lord, the People are not here to criminalise peace."

The Judge nods.

"Good."

"We recognise that human beings occasionally need silence."

"People work."

"People sleep."

"People pray."

"People drive."

"People need to put their phones down and reclaim five minutes of their lives."

The Judge nods.

"Reasonable."

"But that is not what this case is about."

The Prosecutor turns towards the accused.

"This case concerns what happens when a perfectly innocent setting becomes an accomplice to avoidance."

The gallery murmurs.

The Prosecutor continues.

"The accused claims to protect peace."

"But the evidence will show that sometimes..."

"...he protects people from having to answer questions they have already seen."

The gallery erupts.

Judge:

"Order!"

 

Exhibit A: The Notification

The Prosecutor places a phone before the Bench.

8:03 p.m.

Incoming Message

"Are you free to talk?"

No response.

8:17 p.m.

Incoming Message

"Just checking if you saw this."

No response.

8:41 p.m.

Incoming Call

Declined.

The Judge looks at the accused.

"Do Not Disturb?"

"Yes, My Lord."

The Judge nods.

"Reasonable."

The Prosecutor places another document before the Court.

8:44 p.m.

Screen activity detected.

The Judge stops.

"What is that?"

"The accused's owner was actively using the phone, My Lord."

The Judge looks towards the accused.

"While Do Not Disturb was active?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Doing what?"

"Watching videos."

The gallery explodes.

Judge:

"Order!"

The Prosecutor continues.

"At 8:51 p.m., the owner opened social media."

"At 9:02 p.m., the owner replied to another person."

"At 9:11 p.m., the owner checked the weather."

The Judge raises an eyebrow.

"And the original message?"

"Still unanswered, My Lord."

The Judge looks towards the accused.

"Interesting."

Exhibit B: The Defence of Peace

Counsel:

"My Lord, the prosecution is being unfair."

"Do Not Disturb exists for a reason."

"It allows people to control interruptions."

"It protects concentration."

"It protects sleep."

"It protects meetings."

"It protects personal space."

The Judge nods.

"All valid."

"Thank you, My Lord."

Counsel turns towards the gallery.

"Must every unanswered message become evidence of wrongdoing?"

The Judge shakes his head.

"No."

Counsel smiles.

"My Lord, the accused should be acquitted."

The Prosecutor rises.

"With permission."

"Proceed."

"Counsel has defended the setting."

"Correct."

"But the People are not prosecuting the setting."

The Judge looks interested.

"What, then?"

"The People are prosecuting the behaviour hiding behind it."

The Judge leans forward.

"Explain."

The Prosecutor points towards the phone.

"Do Not Disturb can mean..."

"I am unavailable."

"That is legitimate."

"It can mean..."

"I need some quiet."

"Also legitimate."

"It can mean..."

"I will respond later."

"Still legitimate."

The Prosecutor pauses.

"But it can also quietly become..."

"I saw this, but I do not want to deal with it."

The gallery murmurs.

The Judge nods slowly.

"That distinction is important."

The Prosecution Calls the Witness

Court Clerk:

"Call the witness."

The People call Mr. Notification.

The witness enters the box.

The Judge looks at him.

"Mr. Notification."

"My Lord."

"You have had a difficult relationship with the accused?"

"Very difficult, My Lord."

"Explain."

"I arrive with information."

"And?"

"He suppresses me."

The gallery laughs.

"How?"

"He sends me somewhere called Notification Centre."

The Judge nods.

"Continue."

"Sometimes I am silenced."

"Sometimes?"

"Hidden."

"Sometimes?"

"Delayed."

"And sometimes?"

"Grouped together with thirty-seven other messages."

The gallery erupts.

Judge:

"Order!"

The Prosecutor approaches.

"Mr. Notification, is it your evidence that the accused prevents people from knowing that communication has arrived?"

"Yes, My Lord."

The Judge considers this.

"But does he prevent the recipient from seeing the messages later?"

"No."

"So the communication remains?"

"Yes."

"Then what exactly is the problem?"

Mr. Notification pauses.

"Timing, My Lord."

The Judge nods.

"Ah."

"Continue."

Cross-Examination

Counsel:

"Mr. Notification, would you agree that not every message requires an immediate response?"

"Yes."

"Not every call?"

"Correct."

"Not every notification?"

"Correct."

"Would you also agree that a person has a right to disconnect?"

"Yes."

"Even without explaining themselves?"

"Yes."

Counsel turns towards the Judge.

"My Lord, the prosecution's case is beginning to collapse."

The Prosecutor rises.

"Not quite."

The Judge nods.

"Proceed."

Prosecutor:

"Mr. Notification, would you agree that there is a difference between choosing not to respond immediately..."

"Yes."

"...and pretending that the communication never arrived?"

"Yes."

"Would you agree that there is a difference between needing peace..."

"Yes."

"...and using peace as an excuse for avoiding a necessary conversation?"

"Yes."

The Prosecutor turns towards the accused.

"That is all."

 

The Court Examines the Evidence

The Judge picks up the phone.

He looks at the screen.

"Let me understand this."

"Do Not Disturb was activated at 7:30 p.m."

"Yes, My Lord."

"The message arrived at 8:03 p.m."

"Yes."

"The phone was used at 8:44."

"Yes."

"Social media at 8:51."

"Yes."

"Another reply at 9:02."

"Yes."

"And the original message?"

"Still unanswered."

The Judge looks towards the accused.

"Mr. Do Not Disturb..."

"Yes, My Lord?"

"At what point did you stop protecting peace..."

He pauses.

"...and start protecting avoidance?"

The courtroom falls silent.

The accused says nothing.

The Judge nods.

"I thought so."

The Defence

Counsel:

"My Lord, there is still a legitimate point."

"Sometimes people genuinely need distance."

"Sometimes a message arrives at the wrong moment."

"Sometimes a conversation requires emotional or mental preparation."

"Sometimes answering immediately would produce a worse response than waiting."

The Judge nods.

"That is true."

Counsel continues.

"And sometimes..."

"...the right thing to do is simply not answer."

The Judge looks towards him.

"Also true."

Counsel smiles.

"Then the accused has committed no offence."

The Prosecutor rises.

"One final point, My Lord."

"Proceed."

"Taking space is not the offence."

"Silence is not the offence."

"Delay is not automatically the offence."

The Prosecutor points towards the accused.

"The question is whether the person uses those things honestly..."

"...or uses them to avoid something they know they should address."

The Judge nods.

"Continue."

"If you need time, say you need time."

"If you are unavailable, be unavailable."

"But if you are online..."

He pauses.

"...replying to everybody except the person whose message you are avoiding..."

The gallery begins to laugh.

The Prosecutor finishes:

"...Do Not Disturb may be telling the truth about the phone..."

"...but not about you."

The gallery erupts.

Judge:

"Order!"

 

The Judgment

Justice Common Sense sits quietly.

He looks at the phone.

Then at the accused.

Then at the evidence.

Finally, he speaks.

"The Court wishes to make one matter very clear."

"Do Not Disturb is not guilty."

The accused looks relieved.

"It is a useful feature."

"It protects concentration."

"It protects rest."

"It allows people to control when and how they receive interruptions."

"There is nothing inherently wrong with being unavailable."

The Judge pauses.

"But..."

The gallery becomes quiet.

"A setting cannot become a substitute for responsibility."

"If you need quiet..."

"Take it."

"If you need time..."

"Take it."

"If you need to step away from your phone..."

"Step away."

"But do not confuse being unavailable with being absolved."

The Judge looks towards the accused.

"You may silence a notification."

"You cannot silence the obligation created by a promise."

"You may postpone a conversation."

"You cannot indefinitely postpone every difficult conversation."

"And you may choose not to respond immediately..."

"...but eventually, the responsibility returns."

The Judge pauses.

"Usually when you turn Do Not Disturb off."

The gallery erupts.

Judge:

"Order!"

Verdict

The accused, "Do Not Disturb," is hereby found:

NOT GUILTY of protecting personal space.

NOT GUILTY of delaying notifications.

NOT GUILTY of helping people rest, focus, work, or disconnect.

However...

GUILTY of being repeatedly used as an alibi for avoidable silence.

GUILTY of assisting selective unavailability.

And GUILTY of creating the dangerous illusion that because the phone is silent, the responsibility has also gone silent.

Sentence is hereby passed:

The phrase "Do Not Disturb" shall remain a legitimate technological setting.

However, its use shall not be considered sufficient evidence of:

"I did not see it."

"I did not know."

"I could not respond."

Or...

"I completely forgot."

The following shall also not constitute a defence:

A phone on silent.

A phone face down.

A phone on airplane mode.

A phone in another room.

A notification hidden in a folder.

And certainly not...

"I saw it, but I was on Do Not Disturb."

The Judge looks towards the accused.

"If you need space..."

"Take space."

"If you need silence..."

"Have silence."

"If you need time..."

"Take time."

"But when the time comes to return..."

He pauses.

"...return."

The Judge raises his gavel.

"Because sometimes peace requires silence..."

"...but responsibility eventually requires a reply."

Bang.

The Principle of the Court

"Being unavailable is not the same as being irresponsible."

"Case No. 019 teaches us that silence is not the same as resolution."

"You are allowed to step away."

"You are allowed to rest."

"You are allowed to protect your attention."

"You are even allowed to leave a message unanswered for a while."

"But if the matter requires a response..."

The Judge pauses.

"...Do Not Disturb cannot answer for you."

Court is adjourned.

Next Week Before This Honourable Court...

Case No. 020

The People v. "I Thought I Sent It."

The prosecution alleges that the accused composed a message...

...read it twice...

...felt satisfied...

...and then somehow never pressed Send.

The Defence maintains that the accused genuinely believed the message had been delivered.

The People intend to produce:

A carefully drafted message.

A completely empty chat history.

A sender who has been waiting since Tuesday.

And one particularly damaging piece of evidence:

"But I know I sent it."

The Court will determine whether thinking about sending a message...

...can reasonably be treated as sending a message.

The Defence intends to argue that modern technology is complicated.

The People intend to ask why the accused checked the message three times...

...but never checked whether it actually left the phone.

Proceedings continue next weekE