Title
I may have been thinking of the painting An Angel Protecting a Soul in the Balance from the Devil, by medieval artist Guariento Di Arpo [pictured above]. Not that Dharmayama is a devil by any means, but Marcus is definitely the 'angel' protecting Julian's soul.

Quote
This is from Led Zeppelin's 1973 song, "Stairway to Heaven", which was earlier mentioned as the music in the lift up to the assessment room. The song actually had an important message for Julian, and was not the simple joke it at first appeared. Julian believes that he must either be sent Sideways, or (more likely) back to Earth to be reborn. This is a hint that there may be a third option, and even at this stage, it is still a possibility, for the song says that it is never too late to change direction.

https://youtu.be/ATw-zqeTzqw

A Pair of Soulmates
When everyone else has been assessed, Chief Justice Dharmayama looks at Julian and Noel, and says it is a very long time since he last had a pair of soulmates to be assessed in the same room, and he hopes history doesn't repeat itself. This is a hint that it was none other than Dharmayama himself who assessed Rudi and Miranda, and separated them. His attitude suggests that he is not entirely happy about the outcome.

Jeannie's Full Name
When Noel's Case Worker announces herself to the judge before Noel's assessment, we discover Jeannie is only a nickname, and her full name is Jeanne-Claudette Jacquettie. This is another gender-flipped Boosh character, because Jean-Claude Jacquettie is mentioned in a song performed in the episode, "The Power of the Crimp", on The Mighty Boosh TV show.

Although he is apparently only mentioned as a play on the word "jackety", he became more fleshed out in stage shows, where he is a French fashion designer. Jeannie likewise is French and very chic.

I did write another book where a character named Jeannie turned out to have a surprising full name (Eugenia). I know this must look deliberate, but I chose their names in completely different ways, and there is no link between them otherwise.

https://youtu.be/pYFJc-msLfM

Noel's Assessment
Jeannie makes a spirited submission on Noel's behalf – she's a very different sort of Case Worker to Marcus, being charming, seemingly capricious, and even slightly teasing to the judge. She speaks of Noel's good qualities of being kind, loving, and forgiving; of bringing joy, laughter, and sunshine into the world; and trying to make everyone, no matter how small, feel valued. If I was going to try to save Noel's soul, these are the qualities I would talk about!

Jeannie reveals, as at least one wise reader suspected, that being accommodated at The Rose and Star is not only a reward, but also a test of character. Noel passed with flying colours, because staying at a luxury hotel didn't make him arrogant or entitled, and he was friendly and courteous to both staff and fellow guests alike. (We know that Ronald failed at this final hurdle, and had to go Sideways as a result).

The judge questions Jeannie about Noel's negative traits, but she smartly deflects him, saying that if only perfect people were allowed to go Forward, it would be completely empty. Nobody is perfect, and everyone who has ever gone Forward is flawed and has made mistakes. Even Chief Justice Dharmayama. Let that sink in for a while.

In the end, the judge says that someone as young as Noel, who is an adult but still a teenager, is usually sent Forward, unless there are serious reasons not to do so. To me, this strongly suggests that children are always sent Forward, and underage teenagers nearly always, explaining why we never see them at the Waystation – they do not need to be assessed. It also explains why Miranda went Forward – she was very young.

Noel's virtues, his age, and his plans to open a cafe at the Waystation all help to send him Forward. But most importantly of all – Noel is filled with faith, hope, and love. Without that, all else would be in vain.

Empyrean Railway
Noel is given a ticket to go Forward via the Empyrean Railway. In ancient cosmology, based on Aristotle, the Empyrean was the highest Heaven, believed to be occupied by the element of fire – or aether, the 'fifth element'. The word comes from the ancient Greek for "in the fire".

In Christian cosmology, the Empyrean was the source of all light, the dwelling place of God, celestial beings, and the blessed souls. It is thus another word for Heaven, and can be used as both a noun and an adjective. At the very end of Dante's Paradiso, the narrator encounters God in the Empyrean – his desire and will moved by "the Love that moves the sun and other stars".

Picture below shows The Empyrean in Dante's "Paradiso", illustrated by Gustave Doré.

Dead Man Walking
'Dead man walking' is 20th century American prison lingo, used by gaolers to refer to a condemned man walking out to his place of execution. The phrase became generally known from Dead Man Walking: Teaching in a Maximum Security Prison, a 1978 memoir by W. Reason Campbell about his experience as a creative writing teacher at San Quentin, California. He wrote:

When a man on Death Row had to leave the compound containing the gas chamber for a court appearance, he had to walk across the yard, surrounded by six guards. The condemned man was dressed in brown, in contrast to the blue denim of conventional inmates. The condemned man walked with his head bowed as the loudspeaker boomed out repeatedly, "Clear the yard. Dead man walking. Dead man walking."

Julian sees himself as already doomed, and being in the Afterlife, literally a dead man walking.

Julian's Assessment
Marcus doesn't waste time at Julian's assessment – he knows the major issue deciding Julian's fate is his decision to drown himself. He argues that Julian's decision was unpremeditated, and made while suffering from depression. Julian has sincerely repented his actions since then, and is ready to face their consequences, by reading and studying to prepare himself for Sideways.

Chief Justice Dharmayama is sympathetic, but in the end he believes that no matter how unhappy Julian was, and how out of character his behaviour, Julian was still in control of his faculties and responsible for his actions. Therefore, the only possible choice he sees is to send Julian Back to Earth so that his soul may enter a new body and start again (his twentieth life – the number of judgement in numerology, aptly enough).

Despite Dharmayama's reputation as having brilliant legal mind, in the end he turns out to have a very 'by the book' attitude. Like the Wizard of Oz in the movie (earlier referenced), he is not really the amazing fount of wisdom that Julian was led to believe. I was judging a writing contest while preparing this chapter, and in retrospect, I think a lot of Dharmayama's character was a bit of an ironic commentary on my own feelings of being an imperfect judge!

The Judge's Blessing
As Chief Justice Dharmayama sentences Julian to return to Earth for another life, he concludes, "You did not receive the full span of years you were destined for, therefore I have no option but to rule that you return to Earth for another life. And may the Universe have mercy on your soul, may it protect you on your journey, and bless the life that is to come. So may it be."

This is a pastiche of the legal phrase when sentencing someone to death: The sentence of this court is that you will be taken from here to the place from whence you came and there be kept in close confinement until [date of execution], and upon that day that you be taken to the place of execution and there hanged by the neck until you are dead. And may God have mercy upon your soul. It was used in the British Commonwealth until the 1940s, and was spoken as a prayer, to be followed with "amen".

Dharmayama is sentencing Julian to life instead, and offers him true mercy. He calls on the Universe to protect Julian's soul as it travels Back to Earth, and bless the new life that is to come. This must be the same blessing that Bronwen received as well, except that she was also given a unique personalised blessing as a reward for her gratitude and sincere vow to do her best.

Marcus Requests an Appeal
At the very end of Julian's assessment, Marcus throws down his rejoinder, requesting an immediate appeal against the decision. He is fully prepared for this, and has already had his assistant Eleanor draw up the relevant papers. When Dharmayama demands to know what possible reason he has for requesting an appeal, Marcus says he bases it on the fact that Julian is, and always has been, alive.

The phrase 'sensation in the courtroom' is traditionally used at this point in legal journalism.

And yes, a lot of readers already suspected, or were convinced, that Julian was not dead, and never had been. Well done for piecing all the clues together! You may have noticed I never actually said that Julian was dead, but always found some way around it so that the sentence could be construed differently. Even the other characters never quite say it either, as the Waystation will not allow someone to say a direct untruth.