When most people think of bias, they think of overt prejudice: the ugly, conscious beliefs that drive discrimination. But the reality is far more complicated and far more dangerous.
Everyone has biases. You, me, your neighbor down the street, the UPS person, even; because it’s the human condition.
And that human condition includes judges, even those who are sworn to uphold fairness, impartiality, and the rule of law.
In fact, judges may carry more biases than they realize, and because they are placed in positions of authority and credibility, their biases can do more harm than nearly anyone else’s.
Bias Isn’t Always Obvious
Bias isn’t always conscious. In fact, most biases are implicit.
Implicit bias is made up of the unconscious mental shortcuts that affect how we see people, interpret facts, and make decisions. It doesn’t instantly mean that someone is intentionally being unfair; all it means is that our experiences, culture, and even professional training subtly shape our perceptions without any of us even realizing it.
For example, studies have shown that judges, like the general public, exhibit implicit biases based on race, socioeconomic status, and even physical appearance.
One landmark study (Rachlinski et al., 2009) found that judges displayed measurable implicit racial bias when making decisions, despite strongly expressing a commitment to fairness.
In other words: judges don’t just have biases, they often don’t know they have them or refuse to acknowledge them because they are trained not to exhibit bias.
But guess what? They are most definitely, 100% biased. And they need to acknowledge it and work around it rather than deny it.
Authority Amplifies the Problem
The courtroom is built on authority. Judges wear robes, sit elevated behind benches, and are addressed as “Your Honor” for a reason. Their decisions carry extraordinary weight; I argue too much weight, in some cases but that’s another post for another day. But literally everyday on the bench, they are affecting liberty, family, finances, and in some states, even life itself.
But the very structures that reinforce their authority also create significant and worrisome blind spots. Judges are trained to believe they can rise above human tendencies, and the legal system often acts as if judicial rulings are the product of pure reason.
Spoiler alert, many of them are not.
The truth is that no amount of training can completely eliminate the invisible forces of bias.
When judges are unaware (or completely unwilling to examine) their own blind spots, their decisions can:
- Disproportionately punish defendants based on race or background
- Favor powerful institutions or corporate entities over individuals
- Discredit certain witnesses based on appearance or mannerisms
- Ignore neurodivergence or physical challenges
- Downplay evidence that challenges their assumptions
And because judicial rulings are often treated with immense deference on appeal, the damage can ripple far beyond a single case.
Self-Awareness Isn’t Optional; It’s Necessary
Acknowledging bias isn’t a weakness. It’s a strength. Judges must actively recognize that their human instincts; shaped by decades of life, culture, and professional norms that walk into the courtroom with them every day.
But they also must be open-minded that their experience is not the only human experience. A defendant’s experience will never perfectly line up with a judge’s, but that doesn’t mean they can’t both be true.
It’s not enough to declare impartiality. Real fairness demands humility: a constant willingness to question one’s assumptions, to listen critically, and to confront uncomfortable truths about how decisions are made.
Judicial education programs on implicit bias are a start, but they must be more than a one-time training. Bias awareness should be an ongoing practice, much like legal research, ethical compliance, or case management. Judges must continually invest in all of these things over the span of their careers.
A Justice System Worth Believing In
If we want a justice system that truly lives up to its ideals, we need judges who understand that being human means being biased, and that striving against it is without question, part of the job.
Only then can we build a legal system that doesn’t just demand fairness from others but demands it from itself.
