Effective results can be obtained in a municipal court case based partly upon considerations that are not creatures of the law, but predicated upon experience and interpersonal skills.
The Court Administrator and Staff
At a recent ethics seminar, a Superior Court judge made it abundantly clear that the obligation of an attorney to conduct himself appropriately in front of a judge extends to the judge’s law clerk and office staff. I am personally familiar with instances where an attorney acted inappropriately on the telephone to either a court administrator or a member of her office, which resulted in an embarrassing rebuke from the municipal judge the next time that attorney appeared in court. In the majority of municipal courts, the staff probably comprises only a few individuals. They obviously talk among themselves, and it is safe to assume that any adverse experiences or communications with an attorney will be passed on to the judge. This means that even before the attorney walks into the courtroom, his credibility and standing with the judge have been diminished.
