The Judge as a Servant—the Right Judicial Demeanor

"Black Robe Disease"

by Kurt Mausert

The words, "judge" and "servant" aren't usually associated with each other. They should be. The truly good judges see themselves are servants. Politicians pay too much lip service to the phrase "public service" it has almost given the phrase a bad name. How many are really about their own interests? A judge should be expected to transcend that selfish mentality. Yes, the trappings of power are there—the black robe, the elevated seat, the title "Your Honor". All of these are designed to instill respect for that person's office.

It is the office that commands respect—the person holding it must earn it. The judge is not there to merely accept the respect of others. The judge is there to serve. He should serve those who seek help in resolving disputes which they have been unable to resolve on their own. She should serve the law—preserve its integrity and ensure that it is not corrupted by bias. And in Family Court, the children must be served for they are the ones who have the most at stake and who are the most vulnerable.

Being a servant does not mean an abandonment of power. But power without humility, without the consciousness of being a servant, will lead to abuse. Shakespeare wrote in Measure for Measure:

"Oh, it is excellent
To have a giant's strength, but it is tyrannous
To use it like a giant."

There is a tension in us between the need to serve and the desire to be served by others. Seeing oneself as the servant of one's family, community & world, as opposed to expecting service from others at every turn is the way to find purpose and peace. That is the path to our higher nature. That is the path a judge must be on.

Lawyers have a term for judges who are too full of themselves and who would be the last ones to think of themselves as anyone's servant. They have "black robe disease". It applies to those who never learned Lord Acton's axiom:

"There is not worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it".

In my 20 years of practice I have run into too many of this sort. I have never just put my head down and tried to weather the storm. I have met them head on. I have never had cause to regret standing up to abusive authority. It has prepared me, in no small measure, to accept the role of a judge if elected this November and the ability to promise that I will not succumb to the dreaded "black robe disease".

What is the proper judicial demeanor? How does one act as a judge with the sense of being a servant?

• Show respect to those appearing in court. They aren't there because they want to be—they need to be there. It isn't a pleasant process, even at its best. Make it better, not worse.

• Remember that a person's misdeeds do not always define them. Human relations are often not black and white.

• Wield authority in a manner that commands and demonstrates respect—with firmness, without bias, and with mercy.

• Protect those that depend upon you—in Family Court it is all about the best interests of the children. That is the beginning and end of it. Take care of the kids.

• Respect the lawyers—all lawyer jokes aside, they have a hard job. They are neck deep in other people's problems. The good ones are doing their best to solve them. They depend upon the judge for guidance and fairness.

If elected to Family Court, I will work to become the best possible servant of our children and our community.

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The Judge as a Servant—the Right Judicial Demeanor

"Black Robe Disease"