“Black Robe Fever” or “Robe-itis”—the syndrome from which elevation to a judicial position generates arrogance and disdain for the perspectives of others—is seldom addressed or corrected. In fact, one jurist defined “Black Robe Fever” as the process by which “donning a ‘judicial robe’ brings out every latent character defect in an individual.”

Author Steven I. Platt, who served for 30 years on the Bench of the Maryland Judiciary, now a full-time mediator/arbitrator, offers his views on the state of the judiciary (local, state, and federal). The role of “problem solver” contrasts dramatically with the more traditional and limited role of a judge as a dispute resolution officer. Are judges expected to be impartial arbiters, repositories of wisdom, pourers of oil on troubled waters, and parsers of legal complexities? Yes! But the system for recruiting and selecting judges is not premised on any stated list of qualities to be sought in judges. Black Robe Fever: The Role of the Judge in American Society represents a well-chosen collection of Judge Platt’s essential, timeless writings on the state of the judiciary.

For 13 years, Judge Platt shared his opinion publicly in a blog and in a popular column in The Daily Record in Baltimore to broaden the discussion of what it truly means to serve on the Bench and to serve the people. In these troubled times when we are constantly bombarded with heavily divisive rhetoric, Judge Platt’s words span across decades of political, economic, and legal strife offering a neutral, common-sense view based on decades of experience serving on the Bench in Maryland.