Many Americans don’t know that, in legal shorthand, a criminal defendant is represented by the “Delta” symbol, a triangle (∆). (Yes—really.) Less well known—but now, due to the Trump trial, just as relevant—is the “sleeping defendant” symbol: a faded, sideways triangle (▷).
When a criminal defendant is awake but angry at having to face consequences for his crimes, it’s OK to use the Red Delta (🔺). If a defendant is—like Trump—livid at facing consequences *and* “sundowning” during afternoon court sessions, use the *inverted* Red Delta instead (🔻).
What about a criminal defendant who’s at once feeling “sad,” “tired,” and “boxed in” by virtue of having to deal with the same criminal procedures as the average American citizen, whom he considers himself far better than? For this we use the rare Recumbent Boxed Blue Delta (▶️).
If a sundowning criminal defendant is feeling sad and boxed in but not tired—for instance, if a defendant like Trump tries to intimidate a prospective juror in real time and has to be admonished by the judge—we use the Inverted Blue Boxed Delta (🔽). (I know, it gets confusing.)
On to the advanced stuff. For a mentally ill, elderly criminal defendant like Trump who exhibits manic anger *and* confused (“sundowning”) agitation in court—involving, as in Trump’s case, both smirking at jurors *and* sniping at his defense lawyers—we use the Red Diamond (♦️).
In the interest of clarity, the Red Diamond is useful to us lawyers because it combines the Red Delta and Inverted Red Delta to signify a cranky-baby criminal defendant who hasn’t yet gone down for his nap. (Obviously a *napping* cranky-baby defendant is a Recumbent Red Diamond.)
@SethAbramson What kind of defendant does the double black diamond signify?