Lawyers in Virginia Beach Warned: No More Cop Back-Patting in Court

Lawyers in Virginia Beach have been warned to stop patting traffic cops in the back during court appearances.

Chief General District Judge Gene Woolard asked lawyers to end back pats but did not issue a formal order banning the practice, the Virginian-Pilot reports. "We worked this one out peacefully," Woolard told the publication.

Woolard also asked lawyers to refrain from telling a judge whether a client is a relative, friend or law firm staffer, the story says. He acted after judges raised concerns about the practices in meetings with a committee of the Virginia Beach Bar Association.

“If you are sitting in the audience, you could get the impression that there is a good-old-boy system," Woolard told the newspaper. "It is not necessarily the reality, but the impression.”