THE ROBING ROOM

It is a thoroughly terrible experience to have a bench trial before this man. It was not revealed until the trial had started that counsel for my adversary had clerked for Judge Platt within the previous 5 years and that they maintained a close personal relationship. When the judge declined my invitation to recuse himself, and dared me to move for recusal, my client (the plaintiff) was forced to accept the situation and commence the trial, since he had spent thousands of dollars flying in witnesses and having experts present. Even if Judge Platt had recused himself at that late date, no other judge was available to take the case that day. Needless to say, Judge Platt was extraordinarily biased towards the defense and against our side; I can only describe his attitude as contemptuous.