He lifted out the first page.

And he began, in the total silence of that listening room, to read.

Not ten seconds passed before a burst of laughter escaped him.

It was not a mocking laugh.

It was worse than that, for the people across the aisle from me.

It was pure, genuine, delighted amusement, the laugh of a man who has been doing a difficult job for thirty years and has just been handed something that has genuinely surprised and pleased him.

A ripple of deep confusion moved through the crowded courtroom.