One of the most important aspects of our legal system is the hearing before a judge. Most disputes between parties that end up in Court are not before a jury but are held before a judge. That judge decides who to believe, what law should be applied and ultimately what the outcome is.
In cases where my clients have not gotten the decision they wanted but felt that the judges respected them and listened to them, they accepted the rulings and felt good about the legal system. In cases where clients have received nearly everything they requested but felt the judge did not listen, they were upset with process and questioned its fairness.
Most people just want someone to fairly listen to the facts and evidence and end the dispute. If people trust our legal system, they will use it rather than attempt to "get justice" on their own. I am concerned about the decreasing confidence our citizens have in our legal system.
Here are my humble thoughts on how a judge can help to increase confidence in the legal system:
Judges Should Engage: My clients who have respected the rulings of the Court observed judges being engaged during the hearing – giving eye contact to witnesses and taking time to review the evidence. While most judges do engage, I have watched judges take telephone calls, read papers or other court files and even surf the net, all while witnesses are testifying on the stand. If I can see this behavior, so can the parties. It is no wonder people leave the courtroom dejected no matter the result. How can they trust the result if the judge was not paying attention?
Judges Should Explain: In addition to being engaged during the hearing, judges should explain their rulings. When judges take the time to make their own findings of fact, briefly explain the law, and explain the case in layman’s terms to the parties, even if the parties do not agree with the ruling, most of them realize that the judge considered the evidence and made the best ruling he could. Far too often, judges do not announce the reasons for their rulings. They leave it to the attorneys to work out in the written order. While this may ultimately be good for the parties because attorneys can negotiate on what actually goes in the order, the parties are often perplexed and wonder if the ruling was simply arbitrary.
It is my hope that all of us who are part of the legal system will do our part to build confidence in our jobs. Without the confidence of our citizens, they may simply take matters into their own hands. Obviously, we do not want that.
My husband and I visited Wilimington, NC the latter part of this week. While there we stopped by a wood working shop that really makes a difference. It is called “Kids Making It.” It is a program for youth in the Wilmington area where they learn to work with wood to make products they can keep or sell, such as pens, bowls, plaques, etc. The youth may sell the product made in the Kids Making It shop and the youth keep 100% of the profit of the item sold. Through this program the youth learn far more than how to work with wood. They learn skills that are useful in whatever they choose to do with their lives. 
We met Tyrell “Pop” Brockington, the Customer Work Supervisor, who made my husband and me writing pens out of the teak wood from the recently removed deck of the U.S.S . North Carolina. Pop took a square piece of wood and in a matter of about 30 minutes turned it into a work of art. 