Congratulations to Judge Scola, who retired from the federal bench after fourteen years of service. Before that, he was a long-time state court judge. I, like many others in our district, had the pleasure of appearing before Judge Scola. Before I tried a case in front of him, a seasoned trial lawyer told me, "He'll give you a great trial." What he meant by that was that Judge Scola would be engaged, informed, and would rule with fairness and a heavy dose of common sense. Exactly what you'd expect from a judge who was once a highly skilled trial lawyer himself. Plus, the man sounds like Tom Brokaw when he speaks, which adds to the aura.
We wish him well in his retirement, which I'm sure will involve long days on the golf course and tennis court.
His law clerks threw a retirement bash this past Saturday at the Salt Waterfront Restaurant (first picture below).
4 comments:
Judge Scola was extremely fair and reasonable when it came to sentencing. He was also a great defense attorney before he became a Judge.
Great post, though I take issue with the Brokaw claim. Not sure why, but with cadence and tone, he sounds more like David Brooks to me. I do suck at accents though.
He's a big loss to the district, especially in these wayward times. Pragmatism was probably his defining quality in the many criminal cases I had in front of him. Yet his civil order in a case involving deficient medical treatment at birth has always stuck with me most. It's a reminder we can be practical, just, and kind in the profession and should be sure to keep a balanced perspective on what the good things are in life. I had no involvement in the case, and didn't even know it was happening till I read about it in the Herald.
Here's the quote: "But the Government underestimates the value of the loss of the simple pleasures in the life of a parent and his or her child: having the baby recognize you and smile at you, reading a book at bedtime, holding hands with your toddler as you walk on the beach, receiving a hug from your child after a day at work, teaching your child to read, throwing a football together, going to the movies, going to sporting events, working on school homework together. These and so much more are the simple joys that neither the parents nor the child in this case will ever know."
In going to find it, couldn't find the herald article, but pulled it from law360 (both have paywalls). https://www.law360.com/articles/914339/fed-gov-t-hit-with-34m-verdict-in-brain-damage-birth
Judge Scola will be missed. He was solid and fair on the bench, timely in his rulings, and -- importantly -- very generous in the legal community, always showing up at events and being the great mentor that he was (and is). If he had any faults, it was the crazy font that he used in his orders and his Big Blue signature. Would love to know the backstory on that.
Great comments.
I watched in awe as he heard testimony in state court about a complicated and internationally-flavored family matter, carefully listening and demonstrating that attention he always paid. Then he turned to his clerk and had the detailed order he had been typing during!! the hearing!! printed out. And it was thoughtful, accurate, and typo-free.
I attended a seminar during J Scola's federal court time where he explained the sort of presentation that the court was likely to find persuasive re: mitigation at sentencing. Genuinely helpful and candid; never a boring "view from the bench" from Judge Scola.
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