I'll Be the Judge of that: The Power of the Gavel - Info for Writers with Judge Hopkins

ThrillWriting welcomes Judge Bill Hopkins.

To read another interview with Bill go to: "Judgemental"

Fiona -
Judge, thank you for coming by and helping us writers write it right. I hoped to talk to you today about POWER! That gavel is formidable.

Today, let's on work on writing a courtroom scene right. 

What's your first bit of advice for writers?

Bill - 

If you want a courtroom scene to read right, go visit your local courthouse and sit in on trials or docket calls or whatever they have going. Most judges (I hope) would be happy to explain the difference between a civil and a criminal case. Most civil and all criminal cases (except juvenile) are open to the public.

Fiona - 
The reality of going to sit in on a case is not what you see on TV. What are your pet peeves about TV courtroom depiction?


Bill - 
My pet peeve is how exciting court is depicted on television. One time a guy came in my office with a holstered weapon and another time a woman ran out of court and a deputy latched onto her and dragged her back. That's about it for my exciting times. Most court (even criminal stuff) is tedious.

Obviously, the people involved are very much concerned about how the court session turns out. I always kept that in mind. These people may be here for the first and only time in the court system. I had to get it right.

Fiona - 
When I'm up at the courts, I'm always surprised by how casually people dress. On TV everyone looks extremely conservative and I've never seen anyone show up in rabbit-patterned fleece pajamas. But in real life, I have, indeed. 

What did people usually wear in your courtroom (outside of the lawyers) And tell truth, were you wear in your rabbit fleece pjs under your robe?

Bill - 

I started in 1975. People would rarely come to court dressed as casually as they do now, although it did happen. Once I had a young woman come in who was just barely modest. I asked her lawyer where his client lived. Not too far away, he said. I said, "You send her home to put clothes on, and I'll be waiting for her here." Her lawyer said, "I'm sorry, Your Honor. I didn't know that was a rule." I said, "That's not a rule. That's common sense." He still despises me.

And, yes, I have now seen people (usually young women) come to court dressed in pajamas. I wouldn't go to a moonshine still in pajamas, much less a courtroom. This action literally astounds me when I see it.

Fiona - 
Being a judge, is it like actually having a super-power?

Bill - 
Maybe. But it's one that must be used rarely. 

The power a judge has can be awesome (using the correct definition of the word). It's something that judges should use carefully. I will use myself for an example. Once, a person called to jury duty failed to show up. I issued an order, compelling her to appear and show cause why I shouldn't throw her in jail. She showed up and had no excuse for not showing up. I said, "I can either throw you in jail overnight or fine you $50." She said she'd take the overnight jail stay.

            Woman argues with judge and ends up with 300 days in jail

The bad judges don't last long. At least that's been my experience by watching a bunch of judges fall from grace since the time I started practicing law in the 1970s. There are lots of temptations and I had my share. But I always found that no temptation was worth my job and reputation.

Fiona -
What confines a judge when making decisions about sentencing. I've heard of some pretty out-of-the-box ways that judges have meted out punishments. When do you have flexibility to be creative and when is there a mandate and you have very little choice?

Jail or Pepper Spray!

Bill -
In most state courts (but not in federal courts) a judge usually has a minimum and a maximum in sentencing. If it's a felony, the judge will usually get a pre-sentence investigation report before the actual sentencing. The person making the report will recommend what sentence the judge should mete out. Judges, in my experience, usually follow that recommendation.

In the state courts, there is also a review available to people who have plead guilty to a felony. For example, in Missouri it's called a post conviction review. Another trial court judge will look at the sentence and say yes, it was fair (about 99%) or no, it wasn't.

In federal court, according to what I've heard, the sentence is mandated. The judge has very little discretion. This has caused a lot of injustices with people being given harsh sentences for minor crimes. I knew this wouldn't work when it was passed in the 1980s, and I was right.

Fiona -
I have never before heard of a pre-sentence investigation report Can you tell me who compiles the report and what kind sort things are taken in to consideration? Also, do both lawyers get a copy? Or is that for the judge's eyes only?

Bill -
The probation and/or parole officers usually compile these reports. The person's record, co-operation with this arrest, home situation, drug (alcohol, pot, etc.) use, and all other good and bad points for the defendant are considered. Prosecution and defense both get copies. It's a public document. In fact, most everything is public in criminal cases. We don't have star chamber proceedings as they did in England before the Revolution. We do have secret FISA courts, which are federal courts which decide on security issues and which I think are grossly unconstitutional.

Fiona - 
I often see on the news that the victims have an opportunity to address the courts. To say how the criminal actions have impacted them and their families. Is there room to take this information into the decision making about sentencing or are you following that pre-sentence investigation report?

Bill - 
Yes, that's a victim impact statement. I think it's great that courts are taking a victim's perspective into account. However, you must remember that some victims are not exactly angels.

Fiona -
What's the most unorthodox punishment you handed down and why did you do it?

Bill - 
I had offenders who had littered clean up the main street of our little town, which meant that all their friends would drive up and down and honk and refer to them by rude names. It was quite effective.

Fiona - 
What "seals the deal" when you're making up your mind about the offenders culpability?

Bill - 
If you're talking about a non-jury trial, I'd say that most defendants want to testify. Their lawyers hate that. But if they do testify, defendants almost always start running off at the mouth and blab some incriminating evidence. Thus, I'd encourage the defendants to talk. In a non-jury trial, the judge can get away with asking lots of questions that he couldn't and shouldn't ask in front of a jury.

Fiona - 
That's interesting. Did you prefer jury-ed or non-jury-ed trials. And in a jury trial - did you ever just really disagree with their decision?

Bill - 
I liked both kinds of trials. What was interesting in a jury trial is that after the verdict is rendered and the judge dismisses the jury, anyone can talk to them and ask them why they decided the way they did. That was always interesting. I never disagreed with a jury that I remember. I was the neutral in the situation and just watched things unfold.

Fiona - 
You must have heard some difficult things over the years. What coping mechanisms did you put in place. Also, did everyone want to be your friend? You know...just in case.

Bill -
The most disturbing case I heard was a young man who pledged a fraternity was literally beaten to death by the active members in an alleged initiation rite. I had to watch the young man's momma look at pictures of her dead child and identify them. Not good.

People I knew who were or thought they were my good friends always got another judge, not me. I made sure of that.

When you're in the public eye, someone is always out to get you. I always understood that from the very beginning of my career.

Fiona - 
What did you do/could you do to protect yourself and your family (I mean ex-cons, sometimes feel a little upset.)

Bill - 
I have always been well-armed.

Fiona - 
Check out how Bill puts his knowledge into his writing for FREE!

LINK to FREE BOOK

And as always, a big thank you stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Judgmental! Info for Writers with Judge Bill Hopkins

_________________________________________

As many of you know, I've been in front of my share of judges. I used to work as a court-mandated interventionist for families at risk. 

I'm typing confidently along on my newest MS, when I stopped. Wait. I think I know judges because of my job, and my TV watching. When it comes to my job, I basically nodded my head and said, "yes, ma'am." From TV... well if you're a ThrillWriting reader you know better than to get your facts from TV. So I looked up Bill Hopkins whom I've had the pleasure to meet at WPA events over the years and asked him if he'd mind setting us straight.

Judge, would you introduce yourself to everyone?

Judge Hopkins- 
My name is Bill Hopkins and I have been in the legal profession since 1971. I have been a civil attorney, criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, administrative law judge, and trial court judge, all in the state of Missouri.

Fiona - 
Thank you

Can you explain how one becomes a judge? What credentials MUST be on their resume?

Judge Hopkins - 
State judges are selected in various ways, depending on the jurisdiction. Sometimes they are appointed by a governor or panel of officials (such as other judges). Sometimes they are elected. I was elected a trial court judge.

My personal opinion on what makes a good judge is common sense. It's great to know the law, but if you're a judge without common sense, you're a bad judge. If you're a lazy judge, you're a bad judge. And, of course, a judge must be moral.

One thing I always tried to do was give people a chance to talk. I've found that if you give a person about six minutes of uninterrupted time to talk, that's about all it takes. I may've thrown a person in jail, but I let them talk first. People want to talk. A fellow judge said to me once, "Everyone needs to vomit before you get down to business."

Fiona - 
Hahaha! That was colorful.

Would you please expound on your good and bad attributes that you started above? If I am an author painting the picture of a judge, what types of personality qualities would make me a good one? And conversely what if I were writing a judge who absolutely should not be sitting on the bench - what kind of personality attributes would I give her?

Judge Hopkins -

Good judge: 

A listener. That doesn't mean the judge lets the lawyers or parties run over him. (I'm old fashioned. The masculine pronouns are shared by males and females. Females, on the other hand, get their very own pronouns!) It means that the judge will look the person in the eye and give them the chance to say something.

Also, common sense. Once I had a fight between a male lawyer and a female lawyer in Saint Louis City. The problem was that someone had issued a garnishment in a child support case for $90,000.00 but it should've been $9,000.00. I asked them both, "Do you all agree that this was a clerical error?" They both said yes. "Then," I said, "get it corrected and stop wasting my time. Next case." The clerk later told me (privately), "My judge would've let them argue that for two hours." I wanted to say, but didn't, "Then your judge has no common sense."

A third thing that makes a good judge is following the law. Once I told a city attorney that he best not be filing charges under an ordinance that said no political signs were allowed in the yard of a house 40 days after an election. "Why not?" she asked. I said, "It's unconstitutional. If I want to put a sign in my yard that says VOTE FOR GEORGE WASHINGTON, you can't stop me."

A fourth thing is remember that the law is a bunch of jargon that most people (including lawyers) don't understand. Explain it to people. You can't give them legal advice, but you can tell them when they need to get a lawyer. Once I was arraigning a fellow for car theft. I read the charge and it said he'd stolen a Plymouth. "Judge," he interrupted. "It was a Dodge." I said, "Shut up and don't talk to the cops till you get a lawyer."

Bad judge: 

There are judges on the take. With private probation and parole, the legal system profits with more people who are in jail or are on probation or parole. That leads to corruption of judges. It happens and it's hard to root out.

Bad judges also belittle lawyers and parties in public. This is despicable as far as I'm concerned. I would've treated Charles Manson with politeness. I have nothing to gain and everything to lose by being the idiot behind the bench in the courtroom.

Bad judges are lazy. Once I was holding divorce court in Saint Louis County on a Friday. The cops kept bringing me arrest warrants to be signed. After signing the fifth one, I said, "I don't mind signing warrants, but I'm a visiting judge. Why don't you have one of your own judges sign these?" The cop said, "You're the only judge in the courthouse."

Fiona - 
Just how much power do you have as a judge? Are your parameters pretty tight? Where do you have leeway?

Judge Hopkins - 

A judge controls the courtroom. 

A defendant appeared before me with porn tattooed on his arms. I said, "When you come back, have your arms covered." He said, "The First Amendment--" I finished for him: "Does not apply in my courtroom. Mr. Bailiff, please help the defendant find the exit."

Also, if someone shows contempt for the court, the judge could send that person to jail without a hearing or without a lawyer. A woman was called for jury duty and didn't show up. I had the sheriff drag her into court, and she didn't have an excuse. I threw her in jail for 24 hours. No one ever missed jury duty after that.

Judge, you are now also a writer, can you share with us your newest book? What can we look forward to? 

Judge Hopkins -
BLOODY EARTH: After he witnesses the prosecutor tumble to his death on the steps of the Common Pleas courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Judge Rosswell Carew immediately suspects his archenemy Nathaniel Dahlbert of murder. 

None of the authorities believe Rosswell because of his troublesome background. When he teams up with his reluctant “research assistant” Ollie Groton, unknown hiding places, untold secrets, and unsolved crimes push Rosswell to the brink. If he can’t convince the cops who the murderer is, his own life, along with the lives of his family and friends, may also come to a grisly end.

Fiona - 

Very fun. I look forward to reading that.

Here on ThrillWriting, it is tradition for guests to share their favorite scar story and to that can you add a funny judge story? Hopefully they are not one and the same.

Judge Hopkins -
I was in Saint Louis County. I held court up there and came home after a few days.

I got a call from one of the clerks up there. "Judge, we found an extra robe up here but we don't know whose it is. Would it be yours?"

"What color is it?"

Silence for a long time. Then, "Judge, it's BLACK."

"Nope. Not mine."

Fiona -

Ha! I would have liked to have seen the perplexed look on his face!

Judge Hopkins - 
My favorite (and only scar) runs across the hairline of my skull horizontally. When I was four years old, I found an inner spring mattress leaning against a tree in the yard. (A picture is attached because young people don't know what that is and I doubt have ever seen one.) Why this lethal item was leaning against the tree has never been explained to me. I suspect it was a trap set by my parents or perhaps my three sisters. Anyway, like any good little boy, I started climbing up it and it fell backward and split my head open. This has been good for me in lots of ways since it's always been a convenient excuse to explain away some of my actions in later life.

What we old-timers used to call a goodnight sleep - inner coil mattress

Fiona - 

What do you wish that I had asked so people would FINALLY know/understand about being a judge, and they can write it right.

Judge Hopkins -
A few things: 

Judges do NOT wear a robe off the bench, unless you're on the national news and some big shot talking head is interviewing you. 

Second, the next person who says to me (because I've heard 173,492 times), "Here comes the judge" will be shot. I am armed and dangerous. 

A third thing is that circumstantial evidence can send you to the death chamber. The circumstantial evidence of dog prints in the mud outweighs the eyewitness testimony of ten thousand angels that no dog passed this way.

Fiona -

And just so you know, I was going to name this article, "Here Comes the Judge." Knowing that it is indeed true that Judge Hopkins is armed and dangerous, I have changed it, for self-preservation's sake.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Judge.

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Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.