Judge is an officer of the government who presides over a law court. The judges of high courts are called justices in the United States and in the United Kingdom.
A trial judge presides in the trial, or lower, court. Where a jury is used, the jury decides questions of fact. The judge decides all questions of law, including the rules that govern what evidence may be admitted. When all the evidence has been heard, and the lawyers for both sides have addressed the jury, the judge charges the jury, telling it what rules of law apply to the case.
A jury is not always used. In some cases, the law requires a judge to decide on the facts. Or perhaps the parties do not want a jury to decide the case, as in technical questions of science or industry. In these cases, the judge decides based on fact and law.
An appellate judge hears appeals that question the accuracy of the trial judge’s decisions on points of law. An appellate judge may reverse lower court decisions.
Judges in Australia and in the federal courts of the United States are appointed for life. Judges in Canada and the United Kingdom serve until retirement. Such appointments are intended to give judges independence from political considerations, and to encourage them to be fair and objective. Federal judges may be removed only by impeachment for serious misconduct. Some state judges are appointed under a similar system, but many are elected for long terms.
