Judge (also referred to as magistrate or magistrates) are legal authorities that determine the correct application of laws and regulations based on evidence presented by parties involved in legal disputes. They are also tasked with ensuring that court proceedings are conducted fairly, maintaining order and decorum in the courtroom, and making decisions on procedural matters. Judges are expected to rely on legal precedents (previous decisions by higher courts that have established principles for interpretation and application of law) in their rulings.
While different people might have varying opinions about what makes a good judge, there is general agreement that judges should possess four qualities: integrity; intellect; industry; and impartiality. The first two are important because they help ensure that a judge is truthful and follows the law. The third is essential because judges need to have the intelligence necessary to understand the complex issues they are often confronted with. This includes understanding the arguments presented by lawyers and parsing the applicable law. Judges who are not intelligent or are unable to comprehend the law are of little value to the legal system and should leave the bench.
Finally, impartiality is critical because judges must not have any allegiances in a courtroom and must be fair towards all parties that appear before them. Judges who are biased in their decision-making or favor one side over another fail to serve the public interest and should be removed from the bench. The current study focuses on personality characteristics and behaviors that predict judgmental accuracy in the context of unstructured social interactions between three previously unacquainted judges. These interactions are analyzed by trained undergraduate coders in three slightly different situations.