Decades
ago,
when
I
was
a
baby
lawyer,
I
thought
that
I
wanted
to
be
a
judge.
Judges
ran
courtrooms,
or
the
clerks
did.
The
judge
was
almost
always
a
white
male
(female
judges
hadn’t
really
cracked
the
judicial
glass
ceiling,
let
alone
had
a
person
of
color).
He
belonged
to
the
right,
white
clubs,
could
leave
early
for
a
tee
time
if
all
the
cases
had
either
been
settled,
trialed,
or
off
calendar.
A
judicial
appointment
was
the
cherry
on
top
of
a
legal
career.
Remember
when
being
a
judge
was
something
to
aspire
to?
To
work
hard,
be
recognized
for
that
hard
work
and
superior
ethics
and
be
awarded
a
judgeship
where
you
then
made
less
than
associates
at
a
law
firm?
However,
the
prestige,
respect,
and
encomiums
helped
to
bridge
that
financial
gap.
You
were
no
longer
an
attorney
but
a
judge,
deciding
cases,
settling
disputes,
and
presiding
over
jury
trials.
That
black
robe
signified
a
number
of
milestones,
and
being
called
“Your
Honor”
never
hurt.
You
were
respected
by
your
peers
and
the
larger
community.
Today,
do
you
think
that
being
a
judge
is
still
something
you
want
to
do? Impressing
the
right
peeps,
building
the
right
CV,
garnering
favorable
comments
from
attorneys
on
both
sides
of
the
aisle?
Being
a
judge
has
always
been
hard
work,
but
in
these
times,
is
the
juice
worth
the
squeeze?
It’s
not
an
idle
question,
given
the
ever-increasing
attacks
(verbal,
threatened
physical,
and
real
physical).
Are
you
willing
to
put
yourself
potentially
in
harm’s
way
to
uphold
the
rule
of
law
and
the
Constitution?
District
Court
Judge
Thomas
Cullen,
in
a
lengthy
dissenting
opinion
and
a
Trump
appointee,
minced
no
words
in
his
defense
of
judges.
Thanks
to
David
Lat
at
Original
Jurisdiction
for
pointing
out
Cullen’s
disgust
with
the
way
things
are.
“[O]ver
the
past
several
months,
principal
officers
of
the
Executive
(and
their
spokespersons)
have
described
federal
district
judges
across
the
country
as
“left-wing,”
“liberal,”
“activists,”
“radical,”
“politically
minded,”
“rogue,”
“unhinged,”
“outrageous,
overzealous,
[and]
unconstitutional,”
“[c]rooked,”
and
worse.
Although
some
tension
between
the
coordinate
branches
of
government
is
a
hallmark
of
our
constitutional
system,
this
concerted
effort
by
the
Executive
to
smear
and
impugn
individual
judges
who
rule
against
it
is
both
unprecedented
and
unfortunate.”
Sure,
attorneys
criticize
judges
for
their
rulings;
that’s
par
for
the
course
when
you
lose.
However,
Attorney
General
Pam
Bondi
has
decided,
or
rather
derided,
Chief
Justice
John
Roberts
for
what
she
considers
his
failings.
Slings
and
arrows
go
with
being
a
judge.
If
you
doubt
that,
then
check
out
the
website The
Robing
Room.
No
shortage
of
slings
and
arrows
there.
Obviously
some
of
the
comments
are
by
petulant
sore
losers,
but
it’s
hard
to
believe
that
every
single
comment
was
dumped
there
by
ingrates.
Some
judges
are
rightly
called
out
for
their
ineptness,
their
lack
of
judicial
temperament
and
other
qualities
needed
on
the
bench.
However
in
today’s
politically
charged
environment,
does
anyone
still
want
to
be
a
judge?
Why?
Several
examples
should
give
lawyers
pause:
In
2020,
Esther
Salas,
a
federal
district
judge
in
New
Jersey,
survived
an
assault
in
her
home,
but
her
son
was
not
so
lucky.
A
man
posing
as
a
delivery
driver
opened
fire,
killing
Daniel,
her
only
child,
and
wounding
her
husband. Her
efforts
and
those
of
others
resulted
in
the
passage
of
The
Daniel
Anderl
Judicial
Security
and
Privacy
Act.
Unfortunately
that
was
no
one-off.
Chicago
2005:
a
disgruntled
loser
in
a
malpractice
case
shot
the
mother
and
husband
of
the
federal
district
judge
who
had
presided
over
the
case.
Just
a
few
examples.
There
are
others
out
there.
Judges
must
be
circumspect
in
responding
to
criticism,
if
at
all.
At
this
point
in
our
history,
judges
are
not
revered,
they
are
reviled,
especially
if
they
don’t
agree
with
the
administration’s
view
of
what
the
law
is
in
any
particular
case.
Are
judges
who
have
the
temerity
to
disagree
with
the
current
administration
a
dying
breed?
Growing
up
if
I
showed
a
lack
of
respect
to
my
elders,
I
paid
a
price
for
that
disrespect.
Whether
it
was
being
grounded
or
some
other
consequence,
I
learned
the
hard
way
to
treat
people
with
the
respect
they
deserved,
regardless
of
philosophy.
Maybe
every
judicial
officer
should
have
a
bottle
of
liquid
soap
on
the
bailiff’s
desk
to
use
in
times
of
disrespect.
What
has
happened
to
polite
and
ethical
conduct?
Whoops,
I
forgot,
that
conduct
is
now
modeled
in
47’s
image.
Jill
Switzer
has
been
an
active
member
of
the
State
Bar
of
California
for
over
40
years.
She
remembers
practicing
law
in
a
kinder,
gentler
time.
She’s
had
a
diverse
legal
career,
including
stints
as
a
deputy
district
attorney,
a
solo
practice,
and
several
senior
in-house
gigs.
She
now
mediates
full-time,
which
gives
her
the
opportunity
to
see
dinosaurs,
millennials,
and
those
in-between
interact
—
it’s
not
always
civil.
You
can
reach
her
by
email
at
[email protected].