I am not wise

An open letter to litigants

The popular image of a judge is that he or she is wise. It is that judges are uniquely positioned due to life experience, education, training and demeanor to dispense pearls of wisdom to the people who come before them. Take your problems to the wise judge, it is believed, because she will know how to fix them. 

I am a judge, and I am not that wise. Sure, I have studied the law. I can read a statute or a case. I can listen. I spend time thinking about my decisions. But I am not wise. Not in the sense that I am able to use my life experience, education, training, and thoughtfulness to come up with a solution to the problems that brought you to court.

When it comes to major issues in the legal system such as civil lawsuits, decrees in divorces, or judgements in criminal cases, I cannot offer a ruling that is wise enough to solve the problem. No judge can.

Judges do not know more about your situation than you. We also do not know more about your case than your lawyer or the other side’s lawyer. We certainly do not know more than the two of them combined. We will not be able to think of anything they, and probably you, haven’t already thought of.

So, as a judge, I am not offering wisdom. I am offering a decision. You are the customer, and the service I am providing is to decide. You have not been able to work the problem out. Your lawyers have not been able to work the problem out. The problem cannot be worked out, but a decision must be made so everyone can move on. I will make that decision.

Now, it may not be the right decision. In fact, it likely will not be the right decision. The probability of me thinking up a solution that you or your attorneys haven’t already thought of hovers somewhere around zero.

Though it will not be the right decision, it will be a decision, and that has real value. The decision can be a dividing line. My decision can be a stopping point for whatever has been going on in your life that brought you here. It can be a starting point for moving on from there.

If I am issuing a criminal judgment, you can decide to stop using drugs and get clean from here on out. If I am issuing a divorce decree, you can decide to be a better partner in the next relationship. If I am issuing a judgement in a civil case, you or your business will at least have more certainty about future expenses for the case. 

I do not know enough about you or your situation to fix it. I also do not have the power to make you or the circumstances change. I do, though, have the authority to draw a line in the sand, and give you the opportunity to go forward.

I am not wise, but I will decide.