Anna's Opinion: A Paralegal's View of Judges and the Importance of Judicial Elections

I saw the blog by Ron Snyder inviting people to blog.

I thought "I could do that". I can give my opinion on judicial issues, politics, the county and the opinions that I get from my clients in Baltimore County for the topic of the day, which aren't always the "politically acceptable of the day."

But for my first blog I intended to introduce myself and tell the readers "where I came from." I told where I had grown up, where I had lived and all trials and tribulations for me to be who I am today. It was long and probably not very interesting, but the stories would intertwine with cases, situations and relationships to show that journey and I am hoping that I will be able to tell those stories..one day.. but not today. 

Today, I want to emphasize the importance of Judicial Elections and here is why.  It's important in my line of work to know the judges, how they rule and what their biases are.  It's important to the general public to know who the judges are and that they will be given respect and a fair and impartial trial. 

I was in court on this particular day and the judge was extremely temperamental and appeared as if he would rather be anywhere but there, often starring up at the ceiling. He was short-tempered with a defense attorney, in one instance, just falling short of calling him incompetent. He belittled an incarcerated defendant, who was brought from the detention center to court, for coming before him without a lawyer.

Huh?

In my opinion, the judge was projecting his views of what he viewed as the "proper" attitude, character and reaction in a situation and what he believed the defendant should have done rather than whether he or she was guilty of the crime that was presented to him at that time.  There were a lot of prayers for jury trials that day. 

In complete contrast to the first judge I had an opportunity to sit in on cases of a fairly new judge, one that I had never seen before.  She was very pleasant.  She was respectful and courteous to the State's Attorney, which is normally the case with judges.  But this judge was respectful and courteous to the defense attorneys, the plaintiffs and the defendants. 

As she handled each case she would actually direct the defendants, without attorneys, as to their options.  She seemed to be completely unbiased by the fact that a defendant did not have an attorney or they had been brought in from the detention center or the house of corrections or even that the case was taking what seemed to be forever.  She listened to each case and gave fair and reasonable verdicts. 

Some judges are infamous for their views, personal preferences and biases. I couldn't  pinpoint her prejudices or her own moral, ethical or personal biases.  Unfortunately, in my line of work that's not good.  But for the general public that is the sign of a good Judge, in my opinion.

Tell me about your experiences, ask me my opinion and follow me for more blogging about legal issues and my journey from a file clerk to a paralegal/detective - it's parallel to someone becoming a master mechanic because his car broke down. Thanks for reading my blog.

Always Anna