They said Catterson will push a trial ahead, sometimes even fining lawyers, if witnesses cannot appear when Catterson was expecting them. Lawyers have complained to Suffolk's administrative judge. We are all working on issues that have to do with timely resolution of cases marked ready for trial. Catterson declined to comment. Testiness isn't the only fault that lawyers find with judges' temperament.
Some judges exhibit quirks that trouble lawyers.
Many, for instance, praised Weber's unpretentiousness, saying the quality helps him to relate to jurors and defendants. During an opening statement in a murder trial in August, a defense attorney attempted to minimize the significance of the presence of her clients' fingerprints at the crime scene by pointing out that the prints of some Egyptian mummies have survived for thousands of years. He engages in behavior that's not conducive to the majesty of the justice system. Weber, however, argued that he is informal because he wants to communicate well. What they want, most attorneys said, are judges who treat them with respect, behave with dignity and show no bias.