A suspended judge is known for imposing harsh sentences, often the maximum, and may oversee show trials. Lawyers may try to avoid them and work to get the best outcome for their clients. However, they still act within the law and may be scrupulous about trial procedure. Attorneys take their history into account when planning a case and may try to sway the judge towards a less severe sentence.
A suspended judge is a judge who is infamous for handing down extremely harsh sentences in the courtroom. Historically, this term literally referred to a judge who often imposed a death sentence by hanging on convicted felons, but today the term is used more generally to refer to judges known to be very harsh. Although many nations have sentencing guidelines aimed at keeping sentences within a reasonable range, judges have some discretion and can choose to impose the maximum sentence in a case if they choose.
This term is often used pejoratively, particularly to refer to judges who oversee show trials. Such trials are engineered to follow the letter of the law and create the illusion of justice, making it appear that defendants had an opportunity to get a fair trial, but in reality, the results of such trials are foregone conclusions. Infamous examples of show trials can be seen in the Soviet Union under dictator Joseph Stalin, where hanging judges sentenced convicted criminals to death, many of whom were political enemies of Stalin.
Suspended judges are known to always select the maximum sentence when a person is convicted in court, offering no leeway to people who have experienced special circumstances or complex cases. People facing trials before a hanging judge may try to have their trial moved or handled by another judge, out of fear of the consequences if convicted. Lawyers are usually familiar with the approaches taken by different judges in their regions and will work with their clients to get the best possible outcome; in a case with a hanging judge, for example, a lawyer might recommend taking a plea deal rather than trying the case in court.
The pending judges do not act outside the law and some people feel lonely, albeit harsh, in the way they enforce sentences. Like other judges, they are interested in protecting society from criminal activity and sending clear messages to people contemplating crimes. People in their courtrooms may receive a perfectly fair trial under a hanging judge, and such judges may in fact be very scrupulous about trial procedure in the interest of keeping the court fair and trial conditions reasonable.
Part of trial planning usually includes a discussion of the judge’s history and past performance in similar cases. An attorney takes this into account during the jury selection process and when developing a case and selecting witnesses. The goal is to win the case if possible, but lawyers dealing with a hanging judge may also try to seed the trial with information intended to sweeten the defendant’s point of view, with the goal of get a less severe sentence if there is conviction.
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