Judges are Dictators

Judges are dictators during a court session.  There is no democracy in a courtroom.

In practice, short of a bailiff stopping a physically assault, no one will interfere with a judge's conduct during a court session.  Legally, this concept is abetted by the law and the appellate judges as "judicial discretion".  While it is theoretically possible for some consequence to occur after a judge abuses their discretion,  the likelihood of any superior correcting the results of such abuse is very small and very difficult to achieve.  Even worse for public policy, the personal consequences to a judge for abuse of discretion or misconduct are even less likely and do not affect the judge's current income or job security.  While several events of abuse may prevent a judge from advancing in the judicial hierarchy, bad judges have been known to linger for decades, inflict harm upon thousands of innocents, and retire with healthy pensions.

In California, judges stand for re-election.  But few candidates appear to oppose a sitting judge for election and the political machines heavily favor incumbent judges.  Judges are rarely voted out of office.

Nothing contained herein is tendered as nor should it be considered as legal advice.  What is legal is not necessarily justice.  Almost all of reality is non-"published", ergo, what is legally affirmed is always a retarded misrepresentation of reality.   Use at your own risk!