Judge Day seems to be fixated on the idea of power and is particularly aware of the extent of her own power. "The finest lawyer [she's] ever known" told her that "Real power doesn't exist in the courts. He was so right. You have discretion in this job, but you'd be surprised how little. It's taken me an embarrassingly long time to realize that there's a big difference between having a bit of discretion and having real power. It is a very important distinction. A very, very, very important distinction." (90)

Judge Day spends her life outside of the courtroom watching, listening, discerning. She observes the things that people do that will get them into her courtroom and she seems to have strong opinions about what people deserve, but her power is extremely limited in two ways. First, she exerts no influence over people's actions that cause them to end up in her courtroom, because her job is to judge people's actions after-the-fact. Second, as a judge who is "forced" (76) to discern and enforce the law, she only has a "bit of discretion" in applying rules of retributive justice.

Judge Day watches the creepy lawyer follow the girl out of the subway "at ten forty-five in the morning!" (82) but it's just her "morning show" (83). She tries to figure out what kids who commit crimes are thinking, but she doesn't see them until they end up in her courtroom, "insolent and scared" "toward themselves, toward life in itself." (90) Outside the courtroom, the woman convicted of conspiracy for attempted murder was in an abusive arranged marriage and the husband never denied her allegations of violent rape etc. Judge Day doesn't think federal penitentiary is what the woman deserves, but she only has a "bit of discretion"to come up with "good reasons" to reduce her sentence." (94) Either way, the woman is going to prison - in the courtroom, Judge Day must follow the rules instead of asking why law is the way it is.

I found Judge Day to be pretty defensive in dissociating herself from politics (the “intrapsychic phenomenon” [as Eben called it] of the “will to gain and keep power” (75)). I find this ironic because I think it is her inability to "exert power over people's minds," as she claims politicians (but not judges) do, that causes her distress.

-- MichelleLuo - 04 Apr 2012