I appeared today before Judge Devine on a trial de novo with respect to a small claims case.
I appeared today before Judge Devine on a trial de novo with respect to a small claims case. I'm not impressed by him. He refused to consider integral evidence, such as that the defendant previously perjured herself in court before (and gave inconsistent testimony) AND also perjured herself today. On top of that, she kept interrupting both him and myself and even cursed in front of him. Had I, a man, behaved this way, there's no doubt he would have thrown me in jail for contempt of court. He advised her, "I'm giving you leeway because you are frustrated". There's a difference between offering leeway and being a pushover. He was the later. The only reason why I'm increasing my rating a star is he will look into the fact she missed the appeal deadline. As a result, I will likely prevail. He needs a backbone for future proceedings. There's no excuse to not slap a contempt charge on someone who misbehaves as much as her. He also must examine evidence where a litigant lies, be it in his proceeding or a prior one. Perjury is not a minute crime. The fact he was nonchalant about it is troubling.