Jerry Summers: The Bravest Judge In Legal History Monday, December 28, 2020 - by Jerry Summers
Jerry Summers
Most of the legal decisions that establish new precedents or expansion of civil liberties are usually handed down by appellate judges and not by trial judges. The reasons for this are numerous:
1. Appellate judges are usually removed from the local notoriety of highly sensational cases. They normally hear cases at some distance from the actual trial. The hearings at which attorneys argue the merits of a conviction are usually poorly attended in contrast to the actual trial in the community where the alleged crime took place.