Either at the beginning or middle of a case, my clients will often ask me if they can choose the judge who sits on their case. This is not an issue in many smaller counties, as there may be only one judge who hears all the cases. However, in Louisville, there are thirteen Circuit Judges, and they are randomly assigned to both criminal and civil cases. This is done to promote fairness and to prevent lawyers and litigants from "cherry-picking" the judge they believe will be most sympathetic to their cause. This is not to say that a judge may not be removed from a case should he or she know a litigant or has some other conflict. It is just the litigants themselves do not get to choose. And there are times a judge from another Circuit is brought in to hear a case. There are procedures to have a judge removed from a pending case, but there is a heavy burden on the litigant to show that particular judge cannot be fair and impartial. And if successful, the litigant cannot simply choose from the remaining pool of judges. Therefore, in a circuit with multiple judges, sometimes the future of you case can result from the luck of the draw.
CATEGORIES: Litigation