THE ROBING ROOM

Two things struck us about Judge Darrah. First, he had a completely erratic temperament. On some days, he was gracious and indulging, and on other days, angry and imperious. He granted a number of motions on two-days notice, without giving parties an opportunity to submit responsive documents. We found that we could not predict how he would react on any given day to any given action. Second, we found him to be incurious and wrong. His decision in our case was unanimously and scathingly reversed by the Seventh Circuit. He seemed to be committed to an outcome, even if it lacked judicial support. This was coupled with evidentiary rulings that Judge Darrah acknowledged were contrary to Seventh Circuit authority. Not a judge I would want for a complex case.