US District Court Judge William G. Young Holds Motion Hearings at BU Law
The event gave law students the opportunity to observe live federal court proceedings, and ended with a Q&A.
On November 12, Boston University School of Law students had the opportunity to observe live oral arguments before United States District Court of Massachusetts Judge William G. Young. Following the session, Judge Young took questions from students covering how he prepares for cases and the work he typically assigns his clerks.
The Judge heard motions from a total of seven cases, which covered subjects from due process and equal protection claims to breach of contract to patent law. Despite the wide variety of substantive law involved, Judge Young carefully probed the legal arguments of each attorney as he or she defended their motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment. By the 35-minute mark, the Judge had deftly disposed of the first five motions before the court, having allocated only five minutes for each side to argue their claims. He then proceeded to the two final motions of the day, the attorneys having requested during roll call that they be given the longer time slot of twenty minutes. Judge Young later explained to students that preparation and knowledge of the matters before him allow for this faster process.
Nominated to the court in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan, Judge Young has a close relationship with the BU Law community. He teaches a course called Advanced Trial Practice and, next semester, he will teach a seminar examining the complex roles that judges play in the American legal system. Third-year student Abigail James attended the session in large part because of her experiences in Judge Young’s Advanced Trial Practice course. “Judge Young has a way of cutting to the core of the matter, often before the attorneys even know what hit them, sometimes seconds after an issue is raised. It is incredible to witness a judge who is so effective yet so fair. I take any chance I can get to observe him.” Many more students attended the session to learn about and experience federal court sessions. Others expressed an interest in learning about judicial clerkship opportunities.
During the question and answer session, Judge Young presented a long list of duties his law clerks are expected to deliver. After a few of the clerks described their duties, which mostly include legal research and writing, Judge Young credited their hard work for allowing him to arrive at court so well prepared to hear multiple motions back-to-back.
Also present for the session were Judge Young’s courtroom clerk, Jennifer Gaudet; his docket clerk, Matthew Paine; and his court reporter, Richard Romanow. Whereas Ms. Gaudet and Mr. Paine assist the judge with procedural issues, such as scheduling and document collection, Mr. Romanow is under oath to record exactly what is said by all parties in court. “My goal, honestly, is perfection.” Judge Young pointed out that an accurate court transcript is also a valuable check on judicial power. “I can never slip up when I’m explaining something on the bench, because I have a live and exceptionally professional court reporter keeping track of my statements.”
The motion session gave BU Law students a valuable opportunity to observe and question a prestigious member of the judiciary about his role in the legal process. Judge Young provided perhaps the most concise summary of his judicial philosophy toward the end of the session when he stated, “I do the best I can, the fairest way I know how.”
Reported by Lacey Brantley (’16)