Know your judges
At 8.45am, Monday, the young legal practitioner was rushing to court for her first appearance as a lawyer, ‘hope the court does not start sitting before I reach the court room’, she is 30 minutes away from the court room, the KekeNapep she is in seems to be going at a snail like speed. ‘God please let my case not be number one (1)’, then she finally arrives court by 9.15am and the place is looking deserted like the court won’t sit. Then by 9.45am, she sees lawyers trooping into the court, it was at this point that Vanessa Andre realized the judge she was appearing before was a late coming judge, ‘the judge sits by 10am’ she heard one senior lawyer say.
Somewhere else in another jurisdiction, Samuel Collins a legal practitioner of five (5) years post call, was at the courtroom by 8.30am, knowing full well that he was appearing before a mischief judge who could come early for no purpose and strike out cases, and without disappointing, by 8.45am, the judge invited all lawyers in the courtroom to his chambers and starts sitting before 9am.
It is important for practicing lawyers to know the kind of judges they appear before, to avoid losing the judge on a voyage of discovery. Take for instance beating around the point with a ‘straight to the point’ kind of judge. If you appear before a ‘straight to the point’ kind of judge, be straight to the point or face the possibility of losing your case to the other side. The no nonsense, straight to the point kind of judges are always ready for the business of the day, they get irritated when a lawyer unnecessarily prolongs an argument. For the purpose of our discussion, we would highlight the various kinds of judges we have, though not an exhaustive list;
The very independent and disciplined judge: to Nana Ustaz, Esq these kinds of judges are independent from the pressures of everyday life and free of political influences. They judge cases strictly on law and wisdom; they judge rightly irrespective of the parties or counsels involved . This is the idealized version of a judge, and they judge humanly.
We have the Omniscient Judge (the all knowing judge); these kinds of judges were very brilliant litigation lawyers before ascending to the bench; they are always quick to descend into the arena, put you on the hot seat/stand as either counsel to the Plaintiff or defendant, making you sweat it out and giving you a run for your money.
We have the Diligent and Patient Judge: known for their impartiality and willingness to listen to all sides of an argument with an open mind. They listen to counsels irrespective of age at the Bar, and even caution/ correct counsels when they tend to shift away from the law, this kind of judges can be likened to a teacher.
There is the Meticulous Judge: according to Patrick Mbata, Esq, no matter the voluminous nature of the applications filed by the parties, even if the parties are 100 in number, the meticulous judge reads all the applications before the hearing date. The meticulous judge is always keen at keeping up with latest decisions, always amongst the first to know if there is deviation or improvement on the locus classicus at the superior court.
The ‘ever ready to assist’ kind of judge: to A.F Isa Mohammed, Esq these judges always wear a smile as they take a bow, before sitting down; counsels can simply derive guidance from the expression on their faces, you can see the beam, light and gentle smile when a lawyer is on point, and the concerned expression when a lawyer is misfiring.
We still have the lazy, arrogant, jovial banter, punctual, taciturn and many more types of judges in the diverse territorial jurisdiction, the idea is to pay attention to the do’s and don’ts of a particular judge, so you are not caught wanting while handling a matter before any of the judges. Not all cases are won on knowledge of law; some are won by understanding the temperament and psyche of the judge.
Godspeed!
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