44
votes
Judge Judy specific retaliation: technically ethical?
This wasn’t an actual court case.
The show seeks people in civil disputes and pays them to have their case arbitrated by Judy instead of settled in court. (The legal term for this is Alternative ...
- 6,131
36
votes
What is the legal basis for judges being able to see classified material?
united-states
The simple answer is the procedures adopted under the Classified Information Procedures Act. Under Personnel Security, they say that:
No person appointed by the court or designated for ...
- 23.6k
35
votes
Accepted
A sitting judge is claiming to represent a client against me. Should I file a bar complaint?
No, the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct permits County Judges to practice law except "in the court on which he or she serves or in any court subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the county court, ...
- 897
33
votes
Accepted
How do civil courts handle denial of evidence as forged, tampered, or claims that 'I did not sign it' or 'That's not me'?
Just like every other contested assertion
They hear the testimony (evidence-in-chief, cross-examination, redirect), look at whatever physical evidence and submissions on the law that the party wishes ...
- 197k
28
votes
What is the idea behind German courts having both professional judges and lay judges?
Lay Judges?
The lay judges in Germany are called Schöffen. I will refer to them as such in the following because just calling them lay judges as a German feels kind of wrong, as they carry the full ...
- 33.4k
25
votes
Accepted
On the limits of a law clerk to the judge to "co-judge" a case and how the communications should be recorded
Short of forging the judge's signature or acting with a conflict of interest, there's really not much a law clerk can do to "improperly" contribute to the judge's work.
Although Trump's ...
- 57.1k
24
votes
Is there any way to hold a judge accountable for the harm caused by a bad decision?
NO
If there were no extenuating circumstances (or they should not have been looked at as they were not presented), the losing party can petition for reconsideration and appeal the decision as a matter ...
- 33.4k
23
votes
Accepted
Judge Judy specific retaliation: technically ethical?
If this case was decided before a real judge, rather than Judge Judy, the impertinent party could be held in direct contempt of court (imposed summarily and punishable by penalties similar to a ...
- 194k
23
votes
Can a lawyer at trial keep shouting objection in order to fillibuster?
I am guessing that the question is about the United States, since the "objection!" procedure is not the same in other places.
The Supreme Court has held that even though you have the right ...
- 4,671
22
votes
Accepted
What would happen if someone sued every judge in the country?
It would be dismissed sua sponte on grounds including absolute judicial immunity from civil liability.
While conflict of interest rules for judges generally prohibit ruling on lawsuits in which you ...
- 194k
22
votes
Accepted
Can a lawyer at trial keep shouting objection in order to fillibuster?
canada
The Criminal Code allows a court to "cause the accused to be removed and to be kept out of court, where he misconducts himself by interrupting the proceedings so that to continue the ...
- 42.9k
17
votes
Accepted
How does one find a judge for highly publicized issues?
"Personal knowledge of disputed facts" doesn't refer to awareness of news reports or other facts available in the public record. That is public knowledge, not personal knowledge.
It rather ...
- 35.1k
17
votes
Accepted
Calling a judge as a witness in a case that the judge is presiding over?
Parties may only call witnesses for the purpose of adducing* admissible evidence. Evidence is only admissible if it is relevant. If a witness cannot give any relevant evidence, then a party has no ...
- 8,607
16
votes
Can US Supreme Court justices / judges be "rotated" out against their will?
I will only address this part of the question:
Who would be able to authoritatively decide the constitutionality of such a question, with all Supreme Court justices having clear conflict of ...
- 29k
16
votes
Accepted
What happens to judges that are discredited with respect their legal actions?
The judge's decision is reversed or vacated, and then she continues being a judge as though nothing happened.
There are essentially no consequences available for federal judges, with the exception of ...
- 57.1k
15
votes
What happens if a judge disregards a mandatory minimal sentencing law?
united-states
Minimum sentencing laws do not prescribe any punishment for a judge that simply refuses to obey them. See 18 U.S. Code § 3553 as an example that explains how sentencing must be enforced, ...
- 1,407
14
votes
Accepted
Why are magisterial judges not addressed with "your majesty?"
tl;dr: The terms have separate etymologies. Majesty derives from greatness, while magistrate comes from mastering something (people or a trade).
Majesty
Middle English (in the sense 'greatness of ...
- 6,068
13
votes
Accepted
Can a judge force/require laywers to sign declarations/pledges?
canada
In Canada, this would fall within a court's inherent jurisdiction to control its own processes. For example (in another context):
Based on a reading of the authorities, I am able to conclude ...
- 42.9k
12
votes
Accepted
What happens if you tell the court you are not satisfied with your attorney's representation?
The judge would reject the defendant's guilty plea and proceed to trial.
This is a common part of a plea colloquy, which is a standard (often scripted) conversation that occurs between the judge and ...
- 10.2k
12
votes
Accepted
Could a justice be sued in a case that goes, ‘‘all the way up to the Supreme Court?’’
To the title question, yes, of course, Justices are subject to the law same as anyone else is (at least in theory; whether actual practice bears that out is another matter). Chief Justice Roberts (...
- 2,912
12
votes
Can a lawyer at trial keep shouting objection in order to fillibuster?
You do not have the "right" to make baseless objections, either as a defendant or as a lawyer.
Once the judge gets sick of you wasting the court's time, they will likely ask you to stop or ...
- 4,684
12
votes
In the United States Federal Judiciary, is impeachment and conviction by the Senate the only means to remove a federal judge?
Article III judges are appointed for life, "subject only to removal by impeachment" (United States ex rel. Toth v. Quarles, 350 U.S. 11, 16 (1955)).
This is a consequence of the "good ...
- 42.9k
11
votes
What happens if a judge disregards a mandatory minimal sentencing law?
new-zealand
The prosecutor may appeal on the question of law whether the judge erred in not imposing the minimum sentence.
The appeal court may agree and order the original court (not directly the ...
- 25.5k
11
votes
Can a lawyer at trial keep shouting objection in order to fillibuster?
“'tis my right as a lawyer that nobody can take away from me”
What an imagination you have!
You must follow the rules of the court and the judge will shut you down very quickly if you don’t.
- 197k
11
votes
On the limits of a law clerk to the judge to "co-judge" a case and how the communications should be recorded
canada
For a comparative perspective, I present the situation in Canada, which seems to match bdb484's answer for the U.S.
Communication between a judge and their law clerk within the scope of the ...
- 42.9k
10
votes
Accepted
Can a judge give a direct order to a police officer?
There is a special type of law enforcement officer, called a "bailiff" who is charged with maintaining order in a courtroom, and often, a bailiff is a direct subordinate of a judge who must ...
- 194k
10
votes
Is there any way to hold a judge accountable for the harm caused by a bad decision?
YES
There is a way to hold a judge accountable for harm caused by a bad decision: vote him out of office. Judges undergo a retention election every 6 years. The Judicial Performance Evaluation ...
- 210k
10
votes
Accepted
Are judges supposed to take public opinion into account?
united-states
In the US Judges are generally not supposed to take public opinion into account, nor the views of executive officials, except as those are expressed in briefs or other documents ...
- 113k
10
votes
Accepted
Judge witnesses the whole crime
There is one context where this does happen.
Common law judges have direct contempt power.
This means that while a judge is in the courtroom presiding over a case, the judge can summarily punish ...
- 194k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible