The Angry Judge

Here’s a topic that lawyers rarely openly discuss – Angry family court judges.  If you haven’t encountered an angry judge yet in your career, I can assure you that it will happen to you.  Judges aren’t necessarily appointed as judges because they have the right temperament for the job or for that matter, the practical, common sense for the job.  As far as I am aware there is no personality test administered before an appointment is made.  The stress of making decisions every day about the lives of children must be overwhelming and I have a great deal of respect for judges that have been willing to service the public in this way.  Many judges are excellent at their job.  But there are those who, in my opinion,  lack patience, empathy,  understanding and bring their own biases into the job.  I have had many encounters with angry judges in different jurisdictions throughout my career.  In my most recent encounter, a judge told me outright that she didn’t like out of town lawyers, that she didn’t want to hear from me and that I should stop speaking.   The same judge treated the client the same way when she attempted to go to court self-represented. But you can’t let these unpleasant encounters spill over into your day or bring it home with you.  Remember you might be next, so support your colleagues when this happens to one of them; don’t personalize it; and above all else, remember that you are smart and don’t let it destroy your confidence as a lawyer.