Anna Nicole Smith Trial
As judge during the Anna Nicole Smith body custody hearing, Judge Seidlin was involved in some controversial actions, such as making one-liners and other attempts at humor which some who know him said is normal for him, but led many to speculate that his actions and comments were for the cameras in the courtroom and were made as an attempt to secure a courtroom television show similar to Judge Judy's. The judgment was given in what some have viewed as an overly theatrical style, with the Judge weeping and fumbling his words, though others close to him have said that his courtroom conduct was genuine.
However, South Florida lawyers advise that Seidlin has always been a bit of a comical judge. His courtroom antics serve to relax the participants in the process. Known locally as "lightning larry," Seidlin is known to get through a morning docket in under 15 minutes. A trial takes 5 minutes or less. In juvenile cases, he has been known to give "stern warnings" where appropriate. Seidlin has come under fire for giving his friends all public appointments for which they get several hundred dollars apiece. However, this is commonplace among Broward County attorneys. Currently the law has changed and there is a wheel system wherein judges have no discretion to appoint attorneys of their choice.
Seidlin came under criticism in the legal community for his handling of the Smith case, and more recently came under fire for other behavior. In February 2007, WSVN-TV Channel 7 reported Seidlin took three-hour lunch breaks on the four days in April that he was tailed by the station's investigative team. WSVN also showed that he was at a tennis club by 4 p.m. on three of the four days he was watched. He declined to comment for the TV report.
Seidlin was dubbed the "crybaby Judge" and "Larry the Cable Judge" because of his courtroom tears, jokes and unsolicited commentary. The underlying motives for his emotional displays remain unclear.
Read more about this topic: Larry Seidlin
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—Sydney Smith (1771–1845)
“For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. There is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand on us both.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Job 9:32-33.
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