It was a long day in Edgartown district court, and amid the serious business taking place in his courtroom, the Hon. H. Gregory Williams couldn’t help but inject an occasional quip to leaven the proceedings, if only by a little bit.

After all, he faced a 15-page list of criminal cases last Friday, which included motions, pleas, arraignments and other pretrial hearings. That didn’t include small claims cases and a trial that spilled over into this week.