rent a judge
n.— «Q: What is reference judging? A: In California, it’s called “rent a judge,” a pejorative term. Here, about 15 years ago, we passed a statute that allowed parties to retain someone who has been approved by the Supreme Court to sit on a reference-judge panel in certain judicial districts.…If the parties agree—and it cannot be a jury trial or a criminal trial—they can select a person who has been approved to be on that panel, mostly retired judges but some lawyers. That person will try their case just as though it was tried before a regular sitting judge.» —“Justice looks back at career, toward future” by Peter Wong Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) Sept. 25, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Jennifer, a tutor in Tallahassee, Florida, wonders what to call a segment of an orange. Among botanists, it’s a carpel. Informally, it’s a segment, slice, wedge, peg, or pig. It may be that these segments are called pigs, because all...
A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child’s letter to the Tooth Fairy, tucked into a book decades ago. What stories are left untold by these forgotten...
Why is “rent a judge” a pejorative term? I discovered the term reading a book about private justice. Private judges are fairer and more efficient at settling disputes than public judges.