When I was in court I was the judge; when I was out of court I wasn't. Most people didn't address me as judge when I was in public.

You want a judge who makes objective decisions, and that's why temperament is such an important component of being a judge. You have to earn people's respect, because they know that you are deciding the case based on the facts and the law, not because they're trying to be your friend.

Being a judge is sometimes like raising children: litigants get the time they need, not necessarily the time they want, and you have to earn people's respect by communicating to them that you're going to listen, follow the law and make a fair decision.

By definition, half the people leaving the courtroom are unhappy. Any good judge can make more than half the people unhappy. The job is not to make people like you or make people think you're their friend.

I sleep well. In my entire legal career, I have not lost much sleep at night worrying about things, because I've done what I could do in the time I had, and I've got some rest.

As you get older, you tend to be a little less patient with people - people who are not prepared, people who have unrealistic expectations, people who make unrealistic demands, people who think they're more special than other people.

You really don't want to go to court and have the judge decide based on whether or not they're your friend, because you don't want to be thinking that the (judge's) friend is on the other side (of the court case).