Are ALJs privileged to use the title "Honorable"?

[aljustice]

Do most call you, Judge?

[71stretch]

In the context of a hearing, or outside the hearing room, for that matter, the parties call me Your Honor or Judge. I get mail addressed to "The Honorable....", sometimes, or just "Judge...." . Those are all just proper forms of respect.

[aljustice]

Sept 15, 2013 2:44:33 GMT -5 71stretch said:

In the context of a hearing, the parties call me Your Honor or Judge. I get mail addressed to "The Honorable....", sometimes, or just "Judge...." . Those are all just proper forms of respect.

Thank you!

[hamster]

You can even call yourself "Judge," under the right circumstances.

www.oge.gov/displaytemplates/modelsub.aspx?id=1329

In hearings, everybody has a role to play. The lawyers and non-lawyer reps always call me "Your Honor" or "Judge 'Hamster,'" and I always call them "counsel." It's the same in correspondence and during phone calls. Everybody is very professional. In the back part of our office, away from the hearing rooms and the public areas, I try to get all of the staff to call me by my first name, but about half are resistant. Most of the ALJs, when amongst the staff, are more formal than I am, but I figure I retired from the military five years ago, so what the heck? There hasn't been a mutiny or other breakdown in discipline yet.

Best, "Judge H."

[trekker]

I have always addressed the ALJ's at my hearings as Your Honor and Judge and instruct my clients to do the same. This goes for federal and state ALJ's in and out of the hearing.

[aljustice]

Sept 15, 2013 8:10:39 GMT -5 trekker said:

I have always addressed the ALJ's at my hearings as Your Honor and Judge and instruct my clients to do the same. This goes for federal and state ALJ's in and out of the hearing.

Thanks, what is your title?

[aljustice]

Sept 15, 2013 6:55:23 GMT -5 hamster said:

You can even call yourself "Judge," under the right circumstances.

www.oge.gov/displaytemplates/modelsub.aspx?id=1329

In hearings, everybody has a role to play. The lawyers and non-lawyer reps always call me "Your Honor" or "Judge 'Hamster,'" and I always call them "counsel." It's the same in correspondence and during phone calls. Everybody is very professional. In the back part of our office, away from the hearing rooms and the public areas, I try to get all of the staff to call me by my first name, but about half are resistant. Most of the ALJs, when amongst the staff, are more formal than I am, but I figure I retired from the military five years ago, so what the heck? There hasn't been a mutiny or other breakdown in discipline yet.

Best, "Judge H."

From what I read, I don't really see when an Alj could not call themselves "Judge."

[osama]

"honorable" conveys esteem or respect, and that's what you will get as a judge. Judges (and most people with an honorific) do not address themselves that way, and frankly, don't care. Leave it to others to give you the honorific.

[71stretch]

Sept 15, 2013 11:32:15 GMT -5 aljustice said:

Sept 15, 2013 6:55:23 GMT -5 hamster said:

You can even call yourself "Judge," under the right circumstances.

www.oge.gov/displaytemplates/modelsub.aspx?id=1329

In hearings, everybody has a role to play. The lawyers and non-lawyer reps always call me "Your Honor" or "Judge 'Hamster,'" and I always call them "counsel." It's the same in correspondence and during phone calls. Everybody is very professional. In the back part of our office, away from the hearing rooms and the public areas, I try to get all of the staff to call me by my first name, but about half are resistant. Most of the ALJs, when amongst the staff, are more formal than I am, but I figure I retired from the military five years ago, so what the heck? There hasn't been a mutiny or other breakdown in discipline yet.

Best, "Judge H."

From what I read, I don't really see when an Alj could not call themselves "Judge."

Why does it matter what an ALJ calls himself or herself? Away from my job, I don't want to be called "Judge" in a social situation or any non-work situation. I'm just not that hung up on the title. What I expect at work, from parties, is something else again. If I'm participating in a seminar or something, then yes, the title is important.

As was mentioned upthread, some of the office staff call me "Judge .... ", others use my first name, some use both, at one time or another. I really don't care which is used in that context.

[arkstfan]

Staff is probably 70-30 calling me Judge but I wasn't a judge first go-round in the office. I'm comfortable with whatever they feel comfortable with. Being addressed first name by co-workers is natural to me but I have a difficult time addressing others higher up the chart by first name. When I worked in a state agency my immediate supervisor was the Director and I called her "Director" despite her protests to use her first name. I compromised. Director at the start of a conversation, first name later if it were just us or others at my level on the organization chart in the room but Director 100% of the time if any of my staff were in the room just because I didn't want to seem disrespectful.