I worked in legal services. I met a man who was being deposed (interviewed by the opposing side's witnesses under oath). The court reporter, who, like most, did not work for the firm and was simply an independent contractor tried to swear the guy in (you know, "raise your right hand and promise to tell the truth"). The guy asked her a ton of questions: "Are you qualified? Who do you work for? How do I know you can even swear me in? What gives you the right do this? Are you biased? Where were you trained? Who pays you?"

She broke out crying and wouldn't return to transcribe the interview.

The attorneys took it to the judge to require the deposition to be done in front of him. The guy swore up and down about how reasonable he was being, how nice he was, how he wasn't raising his voice and was just asking a couple questions.

The judge ruled against him. His girlfriend, hearing this, started to rush the bench, saying "the judge was just as corrupt as the rest of them."
She was stopped by security.

Since then, I've never allowed myself to believe one side of the story when someone tells me about how their actions led to what they say was an unreasonable consequence.