If you talk to a lawyer for long enough, they'll likely tell you that judges hold a level of power in how they conduct court that is easy to underestimate.
And that's not just a warning about how quickly you can find yourself in contempt of court if you talk back to them, but also an explanation for why judges can get away with their more unorthodox decisions.
This isn't always a bad thing, as some judges have been known to hand down unusual sentences and jail disruptive visitors for reasons that were both compassionate and lived up to the spirit of the laws they interpret.
However, it also means that when a judge adopts a bizarre position that leads to a miscarriage of justice or treats people unnecessarily harshly, there is usually little recourse to be had against them.
And that has been a major point of frustration for the public in the wake of an online court session that has attracted viral outrage in recent days.