Tag Archives: judging

The Facts Are in the Questions – a look at courtrooms and faith

Posted on September 5, 2017 by

Getting the Preliminaries Right I had no experience as a judge when I started. That’s to be expected. Becoming a judge is how one learns what it is like to be a judge. But I also had relatively little experience … Continue reading →

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A Judge’s Job Is Different: a post in honor of America’s first African-American judge

Posted on February 2, 2017 by

I learned today that the first African-American judge in the United States was Wentworth Cheswell of New Hampshire. Elected Justice of the Peace in 1805, he presided over trials, probated wills and carried out other judicial duties over local matters. … Continue reading →

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My Journey From Junior Judge to Senior Sage – 20 years on the bench

Posted on January 27, 2016 by

Last summer marked my 20th year as a judge. Today marks my 56th birthday. You know that means I have a lot of cause to reflect on the passing years. Not that I did, though. Reflect, that is. Not until … Continue reading →

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My Life as a Lawyer: The Day I Got Disbarred

Posted on October 9, 2015 by

[Updated from the archives.] After three years of law school, you might think my school days were over. You’d have thought wrong. I then went into two months of intense study for the bar exam, spending my mornings in review classes … Continue reading →

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Getting In Trouble On Twitter

Posted on September 4, 2014 by

Anyone with a Twitter account knows that rashly responding to a Tweet without thinking it through is a recipe for trouble. I cooked up some trouble on Tuesday. Here’s the tweet from talk show host Doug Bursch: I've got some free … Continue reading →

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What It Takes To Be A Judge In America

Posted on June 13, 2014 by

[From the archives, a brief look at what it really means to be a judge.] *** These are some brief thoughts on the role of a judge in a civil* society: If we travel back to the days of the … Continue reading →

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Why I haven’t Seen 12 Years A Slave (and probably never will)

Posted on May 19, 2014 by

I’ve read reviews, tweets and blog articles about 12 Years a Slave. I’ve seen it featured on TV and heard about it on the radio. It not only sounds interesting, but like a movie well worth the time to sit … Continue reading →

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Activist Judges

Posted on November 8, 2013 by

[From the archives.] *** These are some brief thoughts on the role of a judge in a civil* society: If we travel back to the days of the philosopher kings and queens, the executive was also the lawgiver and/or judge. … Continue reading →

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When The Judge Gets Cross-Examined!

Posted on May 24, 2013 by

[Jeannie Prinsen grilled me about faith and being a judge and justice and law and … well, here’s a sample. You can read the whole thing over at her place.] – How would you define justice in legal terms and … Continue reading →

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My Deepest Secrets Revealed – getting grilled by Michelle Van Loon!

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

[Michelle Van Loon asked if I wanted to take part in a little Q&A on her site. Michelle’s a wonderful writer with a great blog, so I figure she must know what she’s doing.  Apparently there’s a niche sector of … Continue reading →

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