‘Did You Say ‘F**k Me?’ Judge Sentences Florida Teen To 30 Days In Jail For Cursing At Him

[JDPriestly]

355. The police officer desrves respect, but not in the sense that the judge does.

The police officer makes an on-the-spot decision about the events that he observes or that he hears about. The police officer makes decisions based on instinct, on impressions and on his ideas about the law. He follows procedures but not to the extent that the judge in the court does.

The police officer is required to insure the rights of a defendant or suspect to a certain extent, but that is not his primary goal. Justice is only one aspect of his considerations when he makes an arrest or stops someone. He is more concerned with immediate or long-term safety than with justice or fairness.

On the other hand, a judge is supposed to listen to two sides of a dispute. For example, a police officer claims that he saw a driver running a red light and nearly hitting a pedestrian. The judge is not supposed to react based on his senses or emotions of the moment or even his repulsion at the conduct of the driver. That is the police officer's job.

The judge's job is to listen to or read the allegations of the police officer -- who is the accuser -- then listen to the claims or explanation of the driver of the car -- the defendant -- apply the law and decide whether the defendant is guilty.

The judge is the person who is supposed to be objective, dispassionate, rational and measured in his response. The judge is also the person who has the time to read the law (lots of it and often with help from his staff) and apply it "judiciously."

The judge is responsible for maintaining a calm, dignified, thoughtful, respectful atmosphere in the courtroom. If a police officer feels frustrated by the disorder, roughness, thoughtlessness and disrespect that he experiences in his job, he needs to see if he can go to law school and move into the courtroom either as a prosecutor, public defender or judge.

It's not that judges are better people than police officers. Absolutely not. It's just the kind of work they do and the environment in which they do it.