Judges deciding based on personality

An anonymous reader writes:

I have had similar problems in the past with Cmr. Joseph - he makes up his mind before he hears testimony.

He appears to decide cases based upon his perception of who is less cooperative. How does he make THAT determination? Simple. Whoever appears angry is the less cooperative party (even if the party is angry because the other side has ripped them off, lied, slandered, committed perjury and fraud). ...

Commissioner Irwin Joseph is incompetent, biased, and a complete idiot.

But don't take my word for it.

No need to take anybody's word for family court injustices. Just go down to your local family court, sit in on some hearings, and see for yourself.

I once heard second-hand from a judge who explained how he decides cases. He said that he would merely determine who the a**hole was. Then he would concoct some rationale for the a**hole to lose the case.

I was shocked that some judge would openly describe his judicial philosophy that way. He is supposed to be deciding based on the law and the facts, not on his subjective perception of who has the more abrasive personality.

I don't know whether Commissioner Joseph has this philosophy, but the possibility of a judge thinking this way is something to be concerned about in court. It is a major reason that people hire lawyers to represent them. If you insist on your legal rights in court, then you run the risk on looking unreasonable, and having the judge develop a prejudice against you. If you rely on your lawyer to make obnoxious demands, then he is just doing in job.

If you do have a judge who rules based on who he likes, and you do hire a lawyer for that reason, then you have the problem of worrying about whether the judge likes your lawyer. Some lawyers suck up to the judges at every opportunity, and some don't. If you hire a lawyer that is always trying to be liked by the judge, then the lawyer's reputation might work to your benefit, but the lawyer might very well sell out your case in order to preserve his nice guy image.