Panel discusses the rulings that took the most effort, biggest toll
It’s uncommon for judges to speak publicly about their hardest cases, the ones that tested their impartiality and independence and exerted an emotional toll. In the new book “Tough Cases,” 13 trial judges from criminal, civil, probate, and family courts wrote candid and poignant firsthand accounts of the trials they can’t forget, giving readers a rare glimpse into their chambers. The book was the subject of a lively discussion at a panel sponsored by the Harvard Law School Library, which drew a packed house in the Wasserstein Center on Wednesday. The book’s stories help demystify the process by which judges make decisions, panelists said. “I don’t think I had ever really heard judges speak or write publicly about their thought processes and their tough cases the way this book captures,” said Andrew Crespo ’05, J.D. ’08, an assistant professor of law at Harvard Law School (HLS) and one of the panelists. “Something that...