Explain the difficulties faced by a person who becomes a judge.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A new judge is faced with performing a job with little specific training. New judges were often
successful attorneys, excellent legal ability is just one of the qualities expected of judges. Some of the
qualities are innate, while others have to be learned through experience. The newly selected judge faces a
period of rapid adjustment that is frequently a rude awakening—that being a judge might not be exactly
what was expected. The judge learns on the job to perform the fundamentals of judging, such as how to
maintain order in hearings and trials, administer a docket and calendar, be decisive in one’s actions, and
present a commanding presence on the bench while still treating others with respect. This process
involves seeing oneself as a judge without becoming afflicted with “black robe disease,” an
overwhelming sense of grandeur, wisdom, and power. Aside from the procedural and administrative
aspects of being a judge, what makes the adjustment to becoming a new judge even more difficult is the
varying areas of the law judges are required to master. Attorneys generally specialize in one or two areas
of law: criminal, personal injury, corporate, family, and so on. Courts and judges hear cases in each of
these and dozens of other areas of law. When judges deal with cases in areas of law that are new to them,
it is up to the judge to put in the extra work to get up to speed in the specific areas so as to provide just
and informed decisions that are fair to the parties involved. This challenge is compounded when judges
are assigned to court departments that hear specific types of cases, such as family law or juvenile, in
which they have no experience.