Judicial Beatitudes

Of the ancient and noble art of judging — a position of service (the attitudes I sought to emulate in my years on the bench) · by Hollis McGehee · free to read and download

Open the book (PDF, 66 pages)

What this book is

Written by a judge to help him be a better judge, this short book draws from Scripture twelve “beatitudes” of judging: a judge should be a servant, prepared, diligent, wise, on time, humble, prompt, gentle, kind, patient, honest, and fair. It begins where the art began — with Moses sitting as judge from morning to evening and the counsel of his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 18).

Though written for the bench, every principle here is simply how we all want to be treated — by our judge, our spouse, our doctor, our plumber, our friends. The Judicial Beatitudes are the Golden Rule applied to work, whatever field of work we are in: an opportunity to lay down one’s life in service to others.