oh ray im so sorry i didnt see this before now or i might have been able to help! i dont know if you know but im studying law (been studying/working in legal fields for nearly ten years now) and been in countless court rooms at this stage but a few years ago i had to go in by myself to defend an action against me for non-payment of council tax (long story!). even though i was somewhat familiar with court rooms at that stage it was an utterly terrifying experience. i think i got there about an hour early just to make sure and thank god it ended up that i didnt have to go in at all.
im so impressed you managed to do it though. even in a slightly ... ruffled? :P state! way to go you!! and you got it dismissed!! so cool! yep this will be a story you ll be getting laughs out of for years to come.
courthouses can be VERY scary places (on a side note i stood up in court in front of a real judge to argue a case for the first time this tuesday. it was a mock/pretend case but i still had an outright panic attack and had to keep trying to force my voice to come out even though i could hardly see my notes through the black spots swimming across my vision!)
so...