Ethics: Can Lawyers Become Honest Judges?

After reading the following articles we wondered, can lawyers become honest judges? Dishonesty is wrong whether sought or unsought. People that lie have a character flaw regardless of how they may want to classify it. It may be a job requirement but it is also a good litmus test that a lying lawyer may not be the best choice for the people that demand a higher standard from our judges and have the peoples’ liberty in their hands.

“It is the rare lawyer who boldly intends to deceive a court with false representations or evidence, and more often the case that lawyers are simply sloppy or insufficiently careful with the facts. Whatever the circumstance may be and however minor the occasion, we must remember that our careers (and potential freedom!) are always on the line when one appears before the court and that no advocacy effort is worth bending the truth—even just a little.

The idea that judges should be lawyers is deeply ingrained in American culture. Indeed, the law requires it in many parts of the country. But this approach to selecting our judicial officers is both preposterous and dangerous.” (1)

“Most lawyers do not have the knowledge and skills needed to handle the issues passing through our courts. To understand why, spend a few days at a law school, where future lawyers learn to solve problems by applying a formalistic, logic-chopping analysis to a mish-mash of old court cases, following an educational model that has changed remarkably little since World War I.

One solution is simple: Do away with the requirement that judges must be lawyers. Instead, open up the occupation to all adults who can demonstrate an appropriate level of competence. Appropriate standards of education and work experience should be based on the subject matter to be judged, not some poorly formulated idea that lawyers always know best. For example, as an alternative to requiring a law degree, judges in our family courts should be trained in the social sciences, with a concentration on how post-divorce families can best work to raise healthy children. Learning mediation skills -- taught in only a few law schools -- and studying the economic problems created by divorce would also be of great value. This would likely produce career non-lawyer judges trained to defuse tensions and help families arrive at consensual solutions.” (2)

What do you think?

Do you encourage Judicial and Court Reform?

Maybe you are satisfied with the justice and accountability in your courts and would like to share some praise?

Would a lying lawyer make a good judge?

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(1) By Joel Cohen and Danielle Alfonzo Walsman https://www.stroock.com/SiteFiles/Pub784.pdf

(2) By Ralph Warner http://caught.net/prose/lawjud.htm