Also known as: trial judges · trial-court judge
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judicial officer who presides over trial proceedings and rules on matters of evidence, procedure, and law.
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Tobias Thomas stood trial for theft. During closing the trial judge told the jury that an innocent person would have taken the stand to explain his whereabouts. The appellate court reversed the conviction because the comment drew direct attention to the defendant's decision not to testify.
Talon Security's guard left a loading dock unsecured overnight. No statute or regulation addressed the duty. The trial judge instructed the jury on the reasonable person standard after finding no controlling enactment or precedent on point.
Theresa Tucker crossed a construction site marked with warning signs and tripped on loose rebar. No statute set the plaintiff's standard of care. The trial judge instructed the jury to measure her conduct against the reasonable person standard drawn from the facts alone.
Travis Tate slipped on an unmarked wet floor inside a warehouse. With no statute or case directly on point, the trial judge left the reasonable care standard for the jury to apply to the specific conditions shown at trial.
Torchlight Media published an editorial accusing Taliah Tang of corruption. The trial judge instructed the jury that Tang must prove actual malice by clear and convincing evidence before recovering damages.
Tundra Resources sued in federal court after a spill on Pennsylvania land. The trial judge refused to follow a general federal rule and instead applied the state trespass standard that barred recovery for undiscovered trespassers absent wanton conduct.
No. The trial judge may not comment on the defendant's silence or invite the jury to draw an adverse inference from it.
The trial judge supplies the reasonable person standard when no statute, regulation, or precedent establishes the required conduct.
The trial judge may conduct voir dire but must still permit counsel to ask proper follow-up questions or ask those questions itself.
Yes. The trial judge must state findings of fact and conclusions of law supporting the decision to grant or deny an interlocutory injunction.
…. . ." On the other hand, he testified that he did not think that "any of the language in there referred to Mr. Sullivan." The trial judge submitted the case to the jury under instructions that the statements in the advertisement were "libelous per se" and were not privileged, so that petitioners might be held liable if the…