S P E C I A L
F E A T U R E
by Mike Hooker - Phelps Dunbar LLP
Continued from page 22
one thing, and we’re doing something totally different.
The day-to-day job of a District Judge involves hardly
any of the political concerns that they have.
Q: You received your Federal Judicial Commission
in 2019 and have been on the federal bench now for
several months. What would you say is the biggest
difference between serving as a State Court Judge and
a Federal District Court Judge?
A: The volume of cases is much, much higher in state
court. I was literally in court every day in State Court ...
not so in Federal Court. And the other thing is as a State
Judge, you’re really almost totally on your own. You don’t
have any staff other than your judicial assistant. With
Federal Court, you have three law clerks, plus other staff
attorneys that all help you. So as a Federal Judge, you’re
almost managing a staff; as a State Court Judge, you are
usually the only person on the front line.
Q: Everyone knows that federal practice is much
more paper-driven than State Court practice. What
would you say are the pluses and maybe even the minuses
of the federal approach?
A: The pluses are that the issues are thoroughly
researched and explained in detail. I’d say the minus is
sometimes over-kill — it’s a simple issue, but the lawyers
make it much more complicated than it really is.
Q: You’ve already mentioned that you will oftentimes
entertain oral argument even though usually in federal
court, motions are decided solely on the papers. What
determines whether you will hear argument on a motion?
A: Well, so far, my practice has been to pretty much
hold hearings on almost all motions that involve any kind
of a legal issue or anything other than a “no-brainer,”
like a simple motion for extension of time, or something
like that. And I found that holding hearings actually
saves me time because I’m able to talk with the lawyers
about what’s really going on in the case and focus on the
issues that they need to have answered so that they can
move forward with the case.
Q: Are there issues that are brought before you on a
regular basis that you wished the lawyers would resolve
on their own without judicial assistance?
A: Yes, nobody likes discovery disputes. The
Magistrates handle those. If I had to handle those, I
would say that I would be frustrated with that. I think law
can be practiced with a minimal amount of discovery
disputes, and that’s always the struggle.
Q: You’ve been on the state and federal bench for a
combined total of about fifteen years now. How does a
judge maintain good judicial temperament — what
keeps you grounded?
A: I think if you enjoy the job and you enjoy what
you are doing, that’s not a problem — it’s not hard to stay
grounded because you look forward to going to work
every day.
Q: I assume most judges don’t want to get reversed
on appeal. Do you follow closely appeals of your rulings?
A: I just assume everybody is going to appeal
everything, and the only time I really pay attention to it
is if it’s a reversal. And then I read it and find out what
it was that I did wrong. What always surprises me about
those cases though is the issue or issues that the Court
of Appeals drills into is frequently something that we
may only have spent a minute or two on. That’s what
ends up being the main issue on appeal, but things that
we may have fought at length about are not usually the
issues that come back on appeal.
Q: What advice would you give to a lawyer who
might be thinking about pursuing a judicial career?
A: I think it’s important to get experience in as many
different areas of law as possible. It would be great to
have civil and criminal, but if you can’t do that, at least
whatever area you are in, to get as broad of an experience
as you can. Because when you are a judge, you might be
asked to do things you’ve never even heard of.
Q: I noticed on your bio that you’ve been involved in
the Cheatwood Inn of Court, the Smith Inn of Court,
and also the Herbert Goldberg Criminal Inn. Do you
think young lawyers should consider becoming involved
in an Inn of Court?
A: I think it’s a great idea ... not necessarily for the
substantive programs, but just to meet people and see
examples of older lawyers as good role models.
Q: Judge, how have you been able to balance the
demands of your career with your personal life?
A: As a judge, you don’t have to be constantly
worried about deadlines and client demands so it’s a lot
easier to balance your personal life frankly as a judge than
it was as a practicing lawyer. That’s being honest.
Continued on page 24
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