Beware the Judge
Beware the Judge. When you decide to litigate your matter consider that you are placing the decisions as to who will raise your children, when you will visit them, who will make basic day to day decisions and how will years of accumulated assets be divided all with an individual who does not know you or care about you. This person is the judge.
We are raised to believe that judges have some sort of superior knowledge or consideration regarding our welfare when we place our intimate and personal conflicts at their feet, we assume they are the most knowledgeable individual in the courtroom. In fact, the whole courtroom is set up to create that appearance. The judge walks in and we stand, we call them your honor, they sit in a robe on a platform gazing down in the court and we all politely laugh at their humor.
As someone who spends every day in a courtroom, I can tell you that the people we call judges are just that people. They are elected officials who become members of the bench with all of their egos, humanity, morals, prejudices, experiences, knowledge or lack thereof squeezed into the robe. Most judges attempt to be consistent, most attempt to apply legal principles and law; however, no attorney knows how they are going to perceive a particular situation nor how are they going to rule.
I have witnessed judges having bad days or deal with recent tragedy and display extremely erratic behavior in the courtroom. I have witnessed judges show outward animosity towards individual attorneys or their clients. On the other hand, I have witnessed judges display embarrassing familiarity and deferential behavior towards others. Remember, not all judges are created equal.
Some judges, before being elected, have spent years litigating both civil and criminal matters and bring great depth to the bench, other judges have spent years in the criminal sector but have little to no experience with civil or family matters. Some judges were juvenile judges for their entire career and they are deciding capital murder cases with no experience. Still, others have very little experience and are elected very early in their legal careers with almost no practical experience.
The robe does not grant instant knowledge and often attorneys leave courtrooms scratching their heads and making excuses for their clients after a judge compensates for a lack of knowledge and makes unexpected rulings. The most common thing you can expect from a judge in today’s courtroom is utter frustration. Judges seem to be utterly frustrated with the domestic calendar and many are displaying this frustration in the courtroom. I have had judges openly laugh at my client while testifying, I have had judges tell me to shut up and sit down, I have had judges tell me what they were going to do before hearing testimony and I have had judges refuse to allow the testimony. So, what am I trying to say?
If you can follow the advice of your attorney and if there are two ethical and rational attorneys on the case attempt to settle the matter between yourselves. Many attorneys strut around and assure you they know this and that judge and they know what the outcome will be- there is nothing further from the truth. The courts are more overwhelmed than they have ever been and knowledge base and professionalism from the bench is reflecting this dynamic. No one knows how a judge will behave or rule. The only thing you can know for certain is that before you ask a stranger in a robe, who just met you and could care less about you to decide your entire life, remember you are in control of the situation and I strongly suggest you exercise that control because judges are just people with their egos, humanity, morals, prejudices, experiences, knowledge or lack thereof. If you need help from a legitimate Family Law Attorney in the Atlanta area, contact us today and book your free consultation.