Judges in Relation to Judicial Discretion

Judicial discretion is definitely a norm that we have been following for years. It isn't something that is a rule or that absolutely HAS to be done. A judges' job is to make decisions in respect of the law. A judge won't make a decision solely on emotions or his own thoughts. He or she will incorporate how they interpret the law and use precedent in order to make a decision. Judicial discretion is something that we do need in order to keep our legal system fair. Although we need to follow black letter law, discretion should be used alongside the letter of the law in order to make the judgments fair. That is why the judges make the big bucks because they have such a hard job. There is so many ways a certain law, or certain language within a statue can be interpreted. The legal realists idea of judicial discretion is the right way to look at how we handle our legal system today. Facts are the most important thing to a case and they need to be analyzed and interpreted correctly. Every case is different. Even similar cases have slightly different circumstances or facts. It is the judges job to interpret it correctly and make the correct judgment using the letter of the law and precedent based solely on the facts and circumstances of that case alone.