I'm a lawyer. One of the big issues in the legal system is that it really matters who the judge is. Some judges read the files, some don't. Some judges get pissed and take it out on the lawyers. A lot of judges decide who they think should "win" and let that objective shape their decisions on theoretically neutral procedural issues.
I had a hearing in federal court last fall that could have been straight out of Boston Legal. I'm representing the plaintiff, and the defendant made a motion to dismiss the case on procedural grounds. We made a cross-motion which, if granted, meant that the other side's motion was irrelevant.
So, we discuss their motion first, and just as I stand up to argue my motion, the judge announces that he's granting their motion to dismiss. At that point I stand up and remind the judge that our motion is still pending. And his law clerk walks up to him and whispers into his ear for a minute or two. And he then announces that he'll listen to our motion. So, another 10 minutes of oral argument occurs, and he then announces that he's granting our motion, which means legally he has to deny their motion to dismiss.
Now this particular judge has a reputation of being exceptionally mean to lawyers. He has fined lawyers hundreds of dollars for all sorts of perceived insults to the dignity of the court, including interrupting him when he's talking. So when I stood up and tried to head him off at the pass, as it were, from screwing us over by forgetting to hear our motion, I was taking something of a risk.
So, in a matter of minutes, we went from having our case totally dismissed to complete victory, simply because I had the balls to remind the judge what the hell was going on. My client, of course, now thinks I'm a legal hero. But the truth is we got lucky, and of course who knows what mayhem will ensue when we actually get to trial.
This judge is atypical only in the sense that he's a mean SOB. Most judges are pretty polite, but can be equally clueless.
The flip side to this is the sheer number of cases these judges handles. Literally thousands of cases are on their docket at one time, and it's nearly impossible to keep on top of all of them.
The criminal system in particular is simply horrible from a workload standpoint.
I have clients who come to me and expect me to solve problems for them, or at least give them reliable predictions about whether they can win or lose based on the law. And while some cases are fairly predictable, many of them are total coin flips depending the judge's attitudes.
I think the best course of action is to stay out of the criminal justice system at all costs. Once you get a "record" it's entirely possible no judge will ever really listen to you.
AeroDynamic said:
i dont hate cops i just know sometimes they fuck the wrong people over and let the guilty ones walk. I feel bad for all of the people in prison who must be not quilty but got convicted anyways.
I have a felony on my record for malishous (spelling) harrassment from when i was 15 and wrote on a kids car with chalk and then it rained and you couldnt barley see it but they arrested me and let it get way out of hand :roll: I got everything dropped and did all of my community service and the last time i went to court got a new judge and she didnt even look at the case and said "youve been here one to many times your messing up somewhere im convicting you of the full crime and sending you to juvi" When i was back to TURN IN MY COMMUNITY SERVICE. sometimes in certain situations fuck the system if someone rapes my mom ill buy a shotgun and kill them. Then they can convict me of a real crime.
