I have observed and participated in trials throughout the world. I have seen justice and injustice in China, Russia, Ukraine, England, France, Italy, Israel, as well as in nearly 40 of our 50 states.

But in my 60 years as a lawyer and law professor, I have never seen a spectacle such as the one I observed sitting in the front row of the courthouse yesterday.

The judge in Donald Trump’s trial was an absolute tyrant, though he appeared to the jury to be a benevolent despot. He seemed automatically to be ruling against the defendant at every turn.

Many experienced lawyers raised their eyebrows when the judge excluded obviously relevant evidence when offered by the defense, while including irrelevant evidence offered by the prosecution.

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But when the defense’s only substantive witness, the experienced attorney Robert Costello, raised his eyebrows at one of New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s rulings, the court went berserk.

Losing his cool and showing his thin skin, the judge cleared the courtroom of everyone including the media.

For some reason, I was allowed to stay, and I observed one of the most remarkable wrong-headed biases I have ever seen. The judge actually threatened to strike all of Costello’s testimony if he raised his eyebrows again.

That of course would have been unconstitutional because it would have denied the defendant his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses and to raise a defense.

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It would have punished the defendant for something a witness was accused of doing.

Even if what Costello did was wrong, and it was not, it would be utterly improper and unlawful to strike his testimony — testimony that undercut and contradicted the government’s star witness.

The judge’s threat was absolutely outrageous, unethical, unlawful and petty.

Moreover, his affect while issuing that unconstitutional threat revealed his utter contempt for the defense and anyone who testified for the defendant.

Attorney Alan Dershowitz returns from a break during former President Donald Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 in New York City. (Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)

The public should have been able to see the judge in action, but because the case is not being televised, the public has to rely on the biased reporting of partisan journalists.

But the public was even denied the opportunity to hear from journalists who saw the judge in action because he cleared the courtroom.

I am one of the few witnesses to his improper conduct who remained behind to observe his deep failings.

Even when journalists do report on courtroom proceedings, their accounts must be taken with a grain of salt. When you watch CNN or MSNBC, you generally see an account of a trial that never took place.

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They spin the events so much that reality is totally distorted.

I experienced that distortion firsthand yesterday, when I saw one of my former students and research assistants, a CNN legal analyst named Norman Eisen, during a break and went over to him and asked him about his family. We chatted for a few minutes in the most friendly way.

But NBC, the Daily Beast and other media decided to make up a story about the event. They claimed that I had a spat with my nemesis, rather than a friendly conversation with a former student. Their account was made up, yet it was circulated through the media.

To his credit, Eisen wrote to the media to correct the account, saying that the person sitting next to him would confirm the media’s false reporting. I doubt we will see a retraction.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media after arriving for court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 in New York City. (Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)

This minor incident is simply the tip of a very large and deep iceberg of false reporting about the trial that can only occur because the proceedings are not being televised.

There are television cameras in the courtroom, and they record and transmit every word, but not to the public; only select reporters in the overflow room see what the cameras transmit.

There is absolutely no good reason why a trial of this importance, or any trial, should not be televised live and in real time. Allowing the public to see their courts in action is the best guarantee of fairness. As Justice Louis Brandeis wisely said a century ago, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, we used to listen to the colorful account of Dodger games rendered by Red Barber on the radio.

Occasionally when I went to a game and brought my portable radio, I could hear how the “old redhead,” as we called him, colorfully elaborated and exaggerated what was occurring on the field.

Once television came along and everyone could watch the games live, the accounts became far more accurate, because we could see everything for ourselves.

A similar phenomenon would operate if trials were televised; it would force commentators to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.

Today there is no check on partisan reporting of trials and exaggerations and personal opinions are rampant.

The American public is the loser.

BOSTON – If you want to learn a lesson in courage and going after a dream, look no further than 17-year-old Fahad Yasin. He’s part of the STEM Aviation program at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Boston. Now, he’s the program’s first student to take flight. 

“When I was younger, I really wanted to fly, but I never had the opportunity to do it. But now I can, so I’m going to do it,” Yasin smiled.  

Yasin has been part of Burke’s Pathways Program since September. For the past nine months, Yasin’s been taking aviation classes twice a week. On Tuesday, it was time for the real thing. Yasin took off from Norwood Memorial Airport with family and school officials cheering him on all the way. He  was calm and cool in the cockpit. “You feel the motion. You feel the wind. You feel the plane shake under turbulence,” Yasin said. He flew for about 45 minutes – over Gillette Stadium and back. 

And after a comprehensive safety check with his instructor Harry Scales, it was engine start and skies the limit.  

“This is something awesome. The program is doing exactly what it was intendent to do – exactly. It’s getting the kids from the classroom doing simulation into the aircraft,” Burke Stem Aviation Program Director Marcus James said.

“The goal of these programs is to help students connect with what they are passionate about and hopefully help them develop skills within those passions and help them decide what to do after high school,” Burke High School Career Pathways Coordinator Jennifer Lillis said.

 After a perfect landing, there is no question what Yasin wants to become. “It was surreal. It’s something else. My favorite part about it was when you take off, there’s nothing underneath you – just you, the plane and everything else became small,” Yasin said. He hopes to get his pilot’s license and work for a commercial airline.

He hopes his classmates also follow his lead. “It does take a lot of work, but if you really want to do it, there is nothing stopping you. The opportunity is right there – just go for it. The hardest part is starting it,” he smiled. 

The Boston school district says it hopes to expand the Aviation program to other schools so more students can be exposed to careers in aviation. 

PITTSBURGH — Justin Fields could sense his time in Chicago was up at his exit meeting in January.

While Bears general manager Ryan Poles didn’t outright tell Fields the organization was going to look for another quarterback after three uneven seasons with the talented but inconsistent Fields running the offense, Foles didn’t have to.

Fields could sense it in Poles’ body language.

So when Fields received a call while eating dinner in Italy in mid-March that he was heading to Pittsburgh, the initial reaction wasn’t shock, but relief quickly followed by optimism.

Even though the Steelers had just signed Russell Wilson and tabbed him as the starter. Even knowing there was almost no chance Pittsburgh would exercise Fields’ fifth-year option. Even facing uncertainty as to what happens beyond 2024.

Fields remembers watching a hype video while at Ohio State that featured Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. And then all of a sudden, there Fields was on Tuesday, listening to Tomlin give the Steelers — Fields included — a pep talk before the beginning of organized team activities.

“The culture that Coach T has and just the standard that the Steelers have set, this organization has set, I think that was the biggest appeal for me,” Fields said.

The 25-year-old Fields credited Poles for putting him in a situation where he wanted to be, even if that means his name isn’t atop the depth chart.

Asked if it bothered him that he wasn’t traded to a place where he could start right away, Fields shook his head and said he wasn’t “worried about who was here, none of that.”

The chance to play for Tomlin and be part of a franchise known for its stability (though that may be changing considering the roster turnover over the past four months), outweighed everything else.

“I’m grateful to be here and grateful to be a part of this team,” he said.

A team that completely revamped its offense after a first-round playoff loss to Buffalo. All three quarterbacks who started games for the Steelers last season — Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph — are gone. So is former offensive coordinator Matt Canada and leading wide receiver Diontae Johnson.

There is a sense of urgency within the organization with the team nearing eight years removed from its most recent postseason victory. Pittsburgh hired former Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith to run the offense and drafted two potential cornerstones in tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier.

Fields is eager to learn from Wilson and push him at the same time, while still firmly believing his best football is ahead of him.

“I think I have a lot more room to grow,” he said. “I’m nowhere near my ceiling for sure.”

He will get a chance to try and reach it without having the pressure — at least initially anyway — of being a franchise savior, as he was in Chicago. It’s telling that while Wilson did a formal news conference on Tuesday in front of a backdrop next to the practice field, Fields chatted at his locker, as backups do.

It’s a role he hasn’t been in for a while. He’s aware of and understands how things sit at the moment. Just don’t confuse maturity with complacency.

“I’m definitely competing,” he said. “I think Russ knows that. We’re competing against each other every day. Him being out there for me helps me get better. (We are) pushing each other so I mean I definitely don’t have the mindset of me just sitting all year.”

Perhaps because he won’t. The Steelers haven’t had a quarterback start every game during the season since 2018, though Wilson has proven pretty durable, missing only a handful of games during his 12-year career.

When he gets an opportunity is out of Fields’ control. For now, there is just a chance to start over. He endured a lot of “ups and downs” with Chicago, though he stressed he has “nothing but love for the city, for the fans and for my old teammates and coaches.”

Those feelings are already taking root in his town. Fields said he’s engaged in long conversations with Uber drivers during trips to the airport, and praised his new teammates for helping him feel welcome.

It didn’t work out as he wanted in Chicago. A new chapter awaits.

“I’m not the same quarterback as I was last year and I’m not even the same quarterback I even was yesterday,” he said. “So I’m going to continue to get better each and every day.”

NOTES: Steelers DE Cam Heyward did not attend the beginning of OTAs — which are voluntary — for the first time in his 14-year career. Heyward is entering the final season of his contract and is eyeing a new deal. Tomlin said he isn’t concerned about Heyward’s absence. … RB Najee Harris, whose fifth-year option was not picked up by the Steelers, did participate. Harris took the field about an hour late while dealing with what Tomlin called a “personal matter.” Harris, who has topped 1,000 yards rushing in each of his first three seasons, declined an interview request afterward.