THE ROBING ROOM

I found the Honorable Rodriguez to be the worst judge I have ever faced in court. I agree there is nothing per se improper with a judge doing his own research. But no judge should do his own research to find an opinion from a different District Court in a different Court of Appeals that directly contradicts binding precedent in the Court of Appeals where the judge sits. That is not scholarship. It is an abuse of power wielded to find a result that achieves the outcome the judge desires, notwithstanding what the law says. We just cannot have judges doing that.