Witness for the Client: A Judge's Role in Increasing Awareness in the Defendant

Traditionally, a judge remains objective and sufficiently detached to carry out the responsibility of making objective and reasonable decisions based on the evidence presented and the applicable law. Moving from judge to witness supports both the judge and the criminal defendants in the potentially transformative process in a new adult drug treatment court. This article discusses what it means to be a judge who both witnesses and judges. A drug court session illustrates the stance of judge as witness and the promising relationship between the judge and defendant when the judge also serves as witness.