Should Fulton Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall Be Appointed To The Georgia Supreme Court? Part Two

Earlier this week I blogged about Judge Craig Schwall, a Fulton Superior Court judge who has been nominated for promotion to the Georgia Supreme Court. Here is the conclusion of my thoughts on the matter.
Consider this comment from an attorney who was involved in one case I mentioned in my last post - the case where Judge Schwall banned a doctor from testifying for life:
" . . . there is such a thing as judicial temperament. It assures the public that a judge is making rational decisions instead of just spouting off unsupported views to degrade people who cannot defend themselves. Unfortunately this judge does not have it and he never will."
Saying "he never will" develop judicial temperament is a little strong for my taste. I for one hope very much that we will see a change for the better in Judge Schwall. No one is beyond redemption, no one beyond the reach of grace.
But I think it would be wiser to give Judge Schwall some time off the bench so he can work on developing the necessary attributes and temperament rather than promoting him to higher office.
I have seen Judge Schwall in action and can personally attest to his demeanor on the bench.
I had a wrongful death case in his courtroom when he was on the State Court bench. I went in to defend a motion to dismiss my client's case and Judge Schwall let the other side make their argument but did not permit me to make my argument. When it came time for our oral argument he turned into devil's advocate and I didn't get to present our response. He gave every impression of having no intention of giving us a fair hearing.
We dismissed that case and re-filed in Superior Court to get a judge who would listen. This caused much delay and unneccesary additional court costs for my clients.
Interestingly, Judge Schwall's office somehow didn't have a record of our dismissal and months after we dismissed and re-filed in a different court we got an Order from him granting the defendant's motion to dismiss the case. His Order was moot at that point, thank God!
Here is the rub - the case went on to settle for close to half a million dollars! The case had merit (Judge Schwall said it did not). The case had value (Judge Schwall said it had none). The clients deserved their day in court (Judge Schwall tried to deny them that).
That experience with Judge Schwall is the worst I've ever had with a judge becoming an advocate for one side.
I hope others have better things to report about Judge Schwall, I truly do. But I can not support his candidacy and am constrained to oppose it.


Source