hanging judge
Severe capital magistrate
A hanging judge is a judge known for imposing harsh sentences, especially the death penalty.
The term suggests someone who approaches cases with a presumption of guilt rather than impartiality: The defendant's lawyer worried they'd drawn a hanging judge.
Extended to anyone in authority who judges others severely or unfairly.
- gallowsExecution hanging apparatus
- nooseLoop that constricts
- sentencingImposing legal punishment
- harshUnpleasantly severe or rough
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
court of law · gavel · execution · merciless · scaffold · rope · verdict · stern · black cap · condemn · guilty verdict · pitiless · tribunal · death sentence · death row · severe · magistrate · life or death
- Westernscowboys, western, outlaws, sheriffs, western novels
- judgesmagistrate, magistrates, jurist, chief justice, justice of the peace