Comments on: Giving a judge “the hand” http://apublicdefender.com/2008/03/21/giving-a-judge-the-hand/ Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:47:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Mark Bennett http://apublicdefender.com/2008/03/21/giving-a-judge-the-hand/#comment-18975 Mark Bennett Sun, 23 Mar 2008 05:36:32 +0000 http://apublicdefender.com/2008/03/21/giving-a-judge-the-hand/#comment-18975 When I saw the title, I thought it was going to be a post about <a href="http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2008/03/next-time-avoid-eye-contact.html">this story</a>. When I saw the title, I thought it was going to be a post about this story.

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]]> By: SPO http://apublicdefender.com/2008/03/21/giving-a-judge-the-hand/#comment-18885 SPO Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:14:46 +0000 http://apublicdefender.com/2008/03/21/giving-a-judge-the-hand/#comment-18885 I am not a fan of imperious judges, but it seems to me that the judge really didn't do anything wrong here. He probably could have handled the situation better, i.e., instead of arguing with counsel, simply said, ok, I'll let you make your arguments, after I deal with the dozens of other cases. That probably would have gotten the lawyer to stand down. However, an abject refusal to leave the podium is contumnacious, and thus makes the contemnor subject to arrest, and handcuffing and shackling is what happens to you when you get arrested (I imagine anyway). What is galling, and what should get judges booted, is when the judge fans the flames, e.g., name-calling or other denigration of the attorney or litigants. What makes that so appalling is the inability to respond in kind. And that makes it tyranny, petty tyranny, but a tyranny all the same. For example, a judge in NYC used to call prosecutors "Nazis". That judge should have lost his judicial immunity if the prosecutor responded in kind and got found to be in contempt. I am not a fan of imperious judges, but it seems to me that the judge really didn’t do anything wrong here. He probably could have handled the situation better, i.e., instead of arguing with counsel, simply said, ok, I’ll let you make your arguments, after I deal with the dozens of other cases. That probably would have gotten the lawyer to stand down. However, an abject refusal to leave the podium is contumnacious, and thus makes the contemnor subject to arrest, and handcuffing and shackling is what happens to you when you get arrested (I imagine anyway).

What is galling, and what should get judges booted, is when the judge fans the flames, e.g., name-calling or other denigration of the attorney or litigants. What makes that so appalling is the inability to respond in kind. And that makes it tyranny, petty tyranny, but a tyranny all the same.

For example, a judge in NYC used to call prosecutors “Nazis”. That judge should have lost his judicial immunity if the prosecutor responded in kind and got found to be in contempt.

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