By all accounts, it was an excruciating moment at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

A nervous first-time advocate began his argument by reading from a prepared statement, until the never shy Justice Antonin Scalia interrupted and asked: “Counsel, you are not reading this, are you?” The lawyer, Steven Lechner, froze and did not answer, staying silent until Justice Stephen Breyer broke the tension with these words: “It’s all right.”