When a friend called last Friday to ask if I’d be interested in going to the courthouse for the Billy Joe Shaver trial, I was intrigued. I’d never been in a courtroom during a trial with so much at stake — not to mention the fact that just the day before Robert Duvall and Willie Nelson were in that very courtroom in support of their pal, accused of shooting Billy Coker outside a bar near Lorena in 2007.

Serious business in the court? You’d certainly think so. Coker still carries Billy Joe’s bullet in his neck.

Our arrival couldn’t have been more timely. Dick DeGuerin, the celebrated attorney representing Shaver, had just passed Shaver, then on the stand, over to Beth Toben, one of the prosecutors. During her cross-examination, she asked Shaver about statements made in his own autobiography, “Honky Tonk Hero.” She wanted to know if, in fact, Shaver had said the very things contained in his book.

Shaver proudly acknowledged the authenticity of his writings. She then questioned him repeatedly about stories of criminal activity coloring his many years. He seemed quite proud of the fact he had lived an outlaw life, even joking about it on the witness stand.

At one point, Shaver showed his hubris, blurting out to the prosecutor, “Ma’am, I wish I had a book on you.”

Not only was Shaver amused by his own antics and quips, so were some courtroom observers. One was quite correctly ejected from court by the judge. Only a few minutes later, another was removed when Shaver unleashed a zinger under intense questioning, prompting loud laughter.

At one point, Toben asked Shaver if he shot Coker because he was jealous that his then-wife, Wanda, was flirting with Coker. It was an easy yes-or-no question, but not for a songwriting outlaw like Billy Joe Shaver. His reply: “I can get more women than a passenger train can haul.”

I wonder even now: Has Shaver looked in the mirror lately?

During cross-examination of his client, DeGuerin objected numerous times. When an objection occurs, the witness is expected to remain quiet until the judge rules on the objection. Any good lawyer would have advised his client about this, and I can assure you that DeGuerin is a great attorney. But Shaver just couldn’t shut his mouth, even when his lawyer instructed him to do so.

As I sat there watching this 70-year-old man refuse to take any of this seriously, I knew these jurors saw and heard the same thing I was seeing and hearing. The prosecution ended its spirited questioning of the accused, and the jury was excused for lunch.

When we returned from lunch, two more witnesses were called, including Coker’s mom. She testified that Shaver called her two days after the shooting to apologize for shooting her son and to say he did not know why he did it.

During final arguments, the renowned defense attorney focused on the burden of proof and whether the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. He repeated this defense until I nodded off.

On the other hand, the prosecution went through all the trial’s details and asked the jurors to consider the evidence, including those fateful words allegedly spoken by Shaver outside Papa Joe’s Saloon three years ago: “Where do you want it?”

We’ll never know if the star-studded courtroom influenced the jury, producing that not guilty verdict. But I was surprised by the verdict after what I observed during my few hours in the courtroom. I witnessed a joking, obviously unremorseful Billy Joe Shaver, unable to explain why he waited three minutes, or what seemed to be an “eternity,” on the back porch for Coker to confront him. How could anyone claiming self-defense wait three minutes for someone to arrive so he could defend himself?

Since last Friday’s verdict, Shaver has continued to make outlandish statements, most notably expressing the fervent hope that he can some day get his bullet back. But if he had any sense at all, he’d follow the excellent advice that his attorney gave him during much of the trial and “SHUT UP!”

Gordon Robinson is president of Robinson Media, which owns the Waco Tribune-Herald .