Good Judging, Bad Judging

Another day sitting in small claims court.  Payment disputes, mostly – lots of contractors and payday lenders, as well as a chiropractor.  Some procedural irregularities that had to get cleared up.  And a few civil cases, including a trial readiness conference, thrown in just so I would have the pleasure of talking to some other lawyers.  I wasn’t as sure, this time, that I made the right rulings in all my small claims cases.  In retrospect, I would have denied a motion that I granted and not taken a “split-the-baby” approach; and I had to cut one case short – but while I feel bad about not letting the people talk through their cases, it would have gone on without end and to no point, so you’ve got to put an end to it sometime.  And I wish I had the creativity of this judge.  Maybe that sort of thing comes with experience, which I don’t have much of yet.