Modern day judges talk too much – Atuguba

Judges of modern times talk too much at the bench, ace legal practitioner and scholar Raymond Atuguba has observed.

In his view, although judges spoke less in the past, they did so with depth and deeper reflections.

Discussing the role of the judiciary in Ghana’s 25 years journey in the 4th republic on the Morning Starr Tuesday, the former executive secretary to former President John Mahama said the conduct of judges is key in protecting their reputation in the eyes of the citizenry.

“What the judiciary needs today in Ghana is an outside pair of eyes looking from outside in the judiciary and saying ‘well, we think you doing good but there are some things you can do better’.

“Judges in Ghana generally comport themselves very well compared to other countries. But in the last 20 years, I have personally noticed a shift in the comportment of judges. A couple of them are leaning bad things from Judge Judy; we don’t want a judiciary of judge Judies. When I was in law school I used to go to the Supreme Court to listen to cases and what I realized was that at that time, there was a transition from older judges to the newer ones.

One thing I realized was that the older judges spoke very little, but when they spoke it was powerful, it was strong, it was memorable, the newer judges talk too much on the bench,” professor Atuguba told host Francis Abban.

Judge Judy is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Judy Sheindlin, a retired Manhattan family court judge. The show features Sheindlin adjudicating real-life small claim disputes within a simulated courtroom set. Prior to the proceedings, all parties involved must sign arbitration contracts.