Are you curious about how many judges are corrupt? It doesn’t matter if you are in Canada, the USA, Australia, Germany, or the United Kingdom, some people think judges are corrupt.

There seems to be a theme on social media that lawyers are spineless, and judges are just in it for the money. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Going to court is stressful, and people hate to lose. When they lose, they simply cannot accept that they were wrong.

So Why Do People Think Judges Are Corrupt?

As it is with sports, the person that losses always has an excuse. They were not feeling well that day, it was raining, and they didn’t have the right equipment. The loser cannot accept that they are not as good at the sport that they love as someone else.

The same thing happened with Donald Trump during his second election campaign. Even before the election results came in, Mr. Trump started putting out the possibility that the election was fraudulent. If he had won, he never would have spoken about the possible issues again.

In court, when someone losses their child custody hearing, they cannot accept that they are not fit to be a parent. Further, their children would be better off without the parent in their lives.

They will blame their lawyer for not knowing enough about the law. It will be their spouses’ fault for being a liar. And of course, the judge was corrupt.

If it was the father that didn’t get custody, then the judge hates men. When it was the mother who didn’t get custody, their spouse probably gave a bunch of money to the judge. This is how losers think.

Is It the Lawyer’s Fault for Losing the Hearing?

As mentioned before, some people say that lawyers are spineless. The definition of spineless is weak and purposeless. A litigator gets paid to fight for their clients in court. That certainly doesn’t seem like a weak person to me. They also have a purpose, to win the hearing.

Going to court is stressful, even for lawyers. There is a reason people pay their lawyers thousands of dollars. It’s partly because people don’t want to show up to court. They might not be able to sleep for a week before the hearing.

The other reason why people hire a lawyer is that they know the law, but mostly it’s because they have experience. Knowing the law isn’t as important as one thinks. You must gain the judge’s trust.

If you have ten years of experience as a lawyer, a judge will trust you more than a non-lawyer who is showing up for court for the first time. This is not corruption. It’s an unpleasant fact.

Go to court and sit and watch hearings. See how many non-lawyers beat experienced litigators in court. It’s very few. It’s not all about showing a screenshot of an email. It’s how you present your case.

Some People Think All Judges Are Corrupt

Litigators are some of the toughest people in our society. They get paid lots of money, and they add lots of value to their clients. If you pay a lawyer $30,000, and they get you $100K or save you that amount, it’s a good deal.

If you don’t pay a lawyer, and you lose out on $100K, you made a big mistake. It’s like going on YouTube about how to fix a roof. Some people will put in the time (if they have it), and sometimes it might work out.

Other times you just cause extra damage. If it’s an important case, it’s not the time to risk things.

How Many Judges Are Corrupt?

It’s not possible to know for sure, but in Western countries, my guess is very few. If you go to a third-world country, I would assume at least half of them are.

We have very strict court rules. It’s not possible to meet with a judge one on one. If you are going to speak to the judge, the other side must be there.

Most or all of the discussions you have with a judge happen in the courtroom where everything is recorded. This makes it impossible to make the judge any type of inappropriate offer.

Judges are also well-paid in Western countries, which reduces the incentive to be corrupt. In other countries, judges don’t make much money. If they are the type of person that wants nice things, corruption is their only chance.

Examining the Extent of Corruption in the Judiciary

Quantifying corruption among judges sparks profound ethical, legal, and sociopolitical debates. In a robust justice system, such misconduct contradicts the very essence of jurisprudence and fair trial.

Due to the clandestine nature of corruption, it remains a hard task to quantify. Though the task may be difficult, it isn’t impossible, and strides have been made to this effect.

Let’s first discuss a 2022 Transparency International study, which reports that around 25% of the world population believes that the judiciary is heavily affected by corruption.

While public perception may not be the most accurate measure, it provides a starting point in understanding the global perception of corruption within the judiciary.

Uncovering Judicial Corruption

Data from the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index illustrates the magnitude of this problem. According to the WJP, countries like Cameroon, Bolivia, and Zimbabwe bear the dubious distinction of scoring below 0.35 on the index, suggesting a high prevalence of corruption in their judiciary.

It’s a scale where countries scoring 1 reflect a perfect adherence to the rule of law, thus signalling the absence of corruption.

The Center for Public Integrity in the USA unveiled in their 2021 analysis that over 100 federal judges had violated U.S. law and ethical standards by hearing cases where they had financial interests. This alarming statistic underlines that even in a country with a strong judicial system, corruption can seep into the cracks.

While these macroscopic observations are important, micro-level corruption statistics carry their weight as well.

An investigative report by the Los Angeles Times in 2022 found that one in every ten judges in Los Angeles County had received gifts from lawyers and defendants who had active cases in their courtrooms.

When taken at face value, this paints a grim picture of potential bias and corruption on a local level.

How Many Judges Are Really Involved?

Another concrete approach to quantifying corruption among judges is through sentencing inconsistencies. A seminal study conducted by Ohio State University in 2022 examined thousands of judges and their sentencing patterns.

It found statistically significant variations that could not be explained by factors such as crime severity or defendant history, suggesting a degree of bias or potential corruption at play.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Some statistics showcase progress in combating judicial corruption. The European Commission’s EU Justice Scoreboard 2022 reported a decrease in corruption perception among judges in several countries, with Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia showing the most significant improvements.

Corruption in the Judiciary: Facts & Figures

There is also compelling data supporting the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures. A 2023 World Bank study found that a 10% increase in judicial accountability funding led to a 6.7% reduction in corruption cases in Southeast Asian countries. The study highlights the importance of resources in the fight against judicial corruption.

The analysis of the quantification of corruption among judges reveals that the task is like aiming at a moving target. While numerical data provides the backbone for this exploration, the nuances of corruption often transcend the rigid framework of statistics.

As the dialogue around judicial corruption advances, so must the methodologies and approaches to quantifying this elusive but impactful issue.