Trials & Litigation
More Tech, Less Emotion Please, Federal Judges Suggest
Posted May 27, 2008, 04:39 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Speaking last week at a 7th Circuit bar meeting, federal district judges had a few suggestions for the lawyers who appear before them.
High on the list of dos: appropriate use of technology by those who have mastered it. But excessive emotion should be avoided, the judges agreed. Their advice was reported in a National Law Journal recap of the 7th Circuit Bar Association meeting last week, in an article reprinted by New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
Although civility generally has improved in recent years, problem behavior is still sometimes an issue, the article recounts:
"Lawyers shouldn't be acting up in a courtroom, whether it's in front of a jury or not, the judges made clear. As examples of bad behavior, they cited lawyers jumping up and down in front of them, rolling their eyes while chuckling with each other during proceedings and repeatedly shaking their heads during arguments by opposing counsel."
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Comments
Posted by Elliott - 5 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 33 minutes ago
I’m curious as to whether the behavior these judges describe is limited to a few select individuals, or whether it spans an entire class of litigants. I work in the criminal courts, and don’t ever remember seeing lawyers “jumping up and down” or “rolling their eyes” in open court. Perhaps Florida is the exception to the rule? (I doubt it.)
-Elliott
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