The defendant talked about her struggle overcoming anger and accepting her need for mental health treatment. When she was done, the judge led the courtroom in applause. Then, further undoing the hierarchy of courtroom decorum, Judge Theresa R. McGonigle stepped down from the bench, wrapped the defendant in a hug and posed with her for photos. Five times that day, McGonigle and two of her fellow judges repeated that ritual, offering personal salutes to accused lawbreakers who had chosen to go through treatment for their mental illness rather than face prosecution.