Speaking Monday at the opening of the March Term of the Civil Law Courts (A and B), Judge Peter W. Gbeneweleh urged his colleagues to ensure that every party has a full and fair opportunity to be heard, is treated with courtesy and respect, and receives a decision grounded solely in law and fact, undistorted by extraneous influence.
When these principles are faithfully applied, he said, public confidence in the judiciary grows; when they are ignored, it erodes.
Gbeneweleh said the gavel signifies more than authority or procedure; it signifies public trust. "Each time it falls, it reminds us that justice must not only be done but be seen to be done," he said. The gavel's authority, he added, has meaning only when exercised with fairness, patience, and integrity.
True impartiality, he said, requires a judge who is indifferent to praise and unmoved by criticism, guided only by law and justice--not by public opinion or private interest.
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Inside the courtroom, he noted, distinctions of power and privilege must disappear.
"The wealthy and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, the government and the individual stand on equal footing before the law," he said. "It is one of the few places where status confers no advantage and poverty imposes no disadvantage. What matters is not who the parties are, but what the law says and what the evidence proves."
He said, while the gavel represents authority, it must always be guided by a higher principle: impartiality.
Quoting from the newest edition of Black's Law Dictionary (12th ed., 2024), Judge Gbeneweleh said, impartiality is "the quality of being free from bias, prejudice, or favoritism; it is premised upon fairness and neutrality in judgment"
He emphasized that impartiality therefore requires a judge to approach every matter with an open mind, unburdened by preconceived opinions or personal interests.
"The concept is embedded in judicial ethics. Judicial Canon Ten provides, in relevant part: "A judge should be temperate, attentive, and impartial in administering and interpreting the law and in applying it to the facts before the court."
This reminder, he said, makes clear that impartiality is not optional; it is an ethical obligation at the heart of judicial office.
"Impartiality demands more than the absence of overt bias. It calls for intellectual discipline and moral courage," said Gbeneweleh " It requires a judge to decide cases solely on the law and the evidence, not on personal feelings or outside influence; to resist political, social, or economic pressures that might affect the outcome; and to treat every litigant with equal dignity, regardless of status, wealth, profession, ethnicity, or influence."
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