While I suggested in an earlier post the judicial corruption was largely a myth, it occurs to me that perhaps I’m wrong about this. In my 25 years, no judge has ever asked for, or even hinted at, a bribe. But that’s just my experience. If you’re a lawyer (non-lawyers, please don’t vote and skew the results), please take the poll and let us know about your experience.
Apparently, my free, state-of-the-art, guaranteed to work great poll just up and failed. If somebody can help me out with a polling program that works, I would very much appreciate it. Apologies to those who voted for naught.
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Sorry your poll failed. (I’ve used the same free software that Glenn Reynolds does; never failed me.)
I’m not exactly surprised that you’ve never been approached; what do you think a judge who approached you, even obliquely, to suggest a bribe would think? (Maybe: This is one of the times that this guy would love to help out the cops on a criminal matter.) Which would make the approach unlikely, in the first place. It’s a risky move, as if the guy the judge approaches isn’t, well, a corrupt jerk, it’s too much of an opportunity to see the criminal justice system from a different angle. If the corrupt judge isn’t a moron, he’d have to know that the approach would be safe, in advance.
Not saying that there are or aren’t judge with their hands out there, or elsewhere. (Except, as Windy pointed out, in Chicago, where it was pretty well established at one point.) But you don’t present yourself online as a likely (or even possible) candidate to be somebody to fill that hand; I doubt that you’re different in person.
And that’s why I thought the poll would be a good idea. It could just be me, so it seems appropriate to find out whether others had a different experience.
And that free polling software would be…?
When Did You Stop Bribing Judges? Take 2
Thanks to J-dog, I now have (hopefully) more robust polling software so that we can proceed with the poll started here yesterday which, in short order, failed miserably.
When Did You Stop Bribing Judges? Take 2
Thanks to J-dog, I now have (hopefully) more robust polling software so that we can proceed with the poll started here yesterday which, in short order, failed miserably.
As I understand the Chicago way, you’re more likely to be approached about a bribe in a civil case where there’s money at play, e.g. if you’re the plaintiff in a product liability lawsuit against an out-of-state company. Also, you make these deals with the clerk. Judges are above this sort of thing.
This is also a famous lawyer scam that is responsibile for people overestimating the number of judges who take bribes: Underhanded lawyer tells his client the judge can be finessed for $10,000. Client provides cash. Lawyer takes clerk aside for a chat about sports, maybe slips the clerk a few hundred to go along. Then either (a) client wins, and lawyer is $10,000 richer, or (b) client loses and lawyer gives the client the money back, saying that the clerk couldn’t get to the judge because of all the attention on the case.