History Main / HangingJudge

* ''Maximum Bob'' by ElmoreLeonard was about such a judge -- the title was his nickname, referring to the harsh sentences he handed down. It was adapted into a short TV series starring Beau Bridges.

* In LiberalCrimeSquad, judges with a Conservative bent are called Hangin' Judges. Aside from not wanting your liberals put on trial by these guys, they're actually pretty dangerous in direct combat as they can essentially HannibalLecture your members into submission.

* In the OrderOfTheStick, the judge in the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Empire of Blood]].

* The first Judge from Francis Ford Coppola's ''The Rainmaker''.

* The Judge in ''{{Ghostbusters}} 2'', who wanted to have the Ghostbusters burned at the stake... [[spoiler:until the ghosts of the Scoleri brothers, whom he had sent to the chair in the past, vengefully attacked the courtroom, proving the Ghostbusters weren't a fraud]].

* Judge Hangin' Harry Shoat in ''Primal Fear'' actively embraces this trope, even noting that if hanging were legal, he'd be the first one to pull the lever.

* In ''UsedCars'', Judge H. H. Harrison is portrayed as a hanging judge, complete with model guillotine and hangman's noose on his bench. The film's villains take a chance on using Harrison, an honest judge, simply because he's guaranteed to give the harshest sentence should he find the heroes guilty.

* Roy Bean also shows up in the LuckyLuke album ''The Judge''. He charges Lucky Luke with theft in order to confiscate the cattle herd Luke was in charge of, assigns a deaf-mute as the defense attorney, and packs the jury with cronies (including the town's undertaker and his own pet black bear). In the end he is revealed to be more of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who's mostly concerned with lining his own pockets and giving the townspeople a good show: No-one gets worse than fines and confiscation of property because there would be no point in killing his own customers.

* Judge Chamberlain Haller in ''MyCousinVinny'' is not corrupt or dishonest but he makes it clear that he doesn't care for the defense or for "Yankees" in his court. He also ignores the law at least once in order to favor the prosecution.
** It should be noted that whether a judge sustains or overrules an objection (like the one Vinny made) is entirely within their discretion. A judge may get overturned at a higher court, but overruling a seemingly valid objection [[DidNotDoTheResearch does not constitute ignoring the law.]]

* ''MaximumBob'' by ElmoreLeonard was about such a judge -- the title was his nickname, referring to the harsh sentences he handed down. It was adapted into a short TV series starring Beau Bridges.

* According to [[TheDresdenFiles Harry]], The Merlin tends to act as one over trials of lawbreakers of magic (with a strong implication that a good chunk of the offenders could be rehabilitated with a proper mentor). But again, Harry isn't exactly the most unbiased source when it comes to The Merlin's actions...

* And there's also the judge in the ''HomeMovies'' episode where Brendon's bike was destroyed in an accident. Brendon had been riding his bike on the wrong side of the road, and he was struck by a car, head-on. The judge showed ''no'' sympathy toward Brendon who was on trial over said accident, when ''Brendon was nearly killed''.

* In a subversion, Time/Life treats one HangingJudge(I think it was Isaac Parker) in a favorable light, claiming that he was a LawfulGood or at least LawfulNeutral who brought peace to a lawless territory, and among other things, treated indians as fairly as whites. According to Time/Life the only reason he hanged so many people was that there was an excess of {{Outlaws}} in his territory who of course "Needed Killin." YourMileageMayVary on that, but you can read the book.

* ''{{Deadlands}}'' features a monster called the Hanging Judge, which repeats all the sins you've ever committed (the worst sin? Being Texan.)

* ''{{Deadlands}}: Reloaded'' features a monster called the Hanging Judge, which repeats all the sins you've ever committed (the worst sin? Being Texan.)
** Before that, ''[[CollectibleCardGame Doomtown]]'' included "Hangin' Judge Gabriel", who could [[OneHitKill instantly 'Ace']] any character marked as Wanted. As a bonus, his flavor text was a [[ShoutOut direct reference]] to [[JudgeDredd Judge Death]] (see above).

--> '''Judge Whitey''': Being as I have a ham sandwich with mayonnaise waiting for me at my mansion, I declare the defendants guilty as charged.

*** Judge Begbie earned the nickname well after his death, despite being known during his own time for being fair and even merciful. He successfully argued for clemency in several cases that would have demanded the death penalty, and was one of only a few colonial judges without racial bias.

** Judge Whyett [=McKay=] was inspired by Roy Bean. http://shell.ihug.co.nz/~hallmail/inspire/gettscum.html
** Ironically the historical Bean only ever sentenced two people to hang, and one of them escaped. He even used to release horse thieves, traditionally a hanging offence in the old West, if they returned the horses.

* RealLife Wild West lawman Roy Bean is portrayed like this in DonRosa's ''{{The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck}}: The Prisoner of White Agony Creek''. He apparently regards kidnapping, assault, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking making a man waste good liquor]], and [[AllCrimesAreEqual pretty much all crimes]] as hanging offenses.

* Bram Stoker wrote a short story called ''The Judge's House'' where the house was haunted by the ghost of a hanging judge.

* Roy Bean also gets this treatment in the LuckyLuke album ''The Judge''. He charges Lucky Luke with theft in order to confiscate the cattle herd Luke was in charge of, assigns a deaf-mute as the defense attorney, and packs the jury with cronies (including the town's undertaker and his own pet black bear).
** The Lucky Luke version is considerably more lovable, however, being more of a trickster who is mostly concerned with lining his own pockets than imposing punishments that involve harming or killing the defendant. After all, why would he want to kill his customers?

* The Right Honorable Judge Wallace P. Grindstump from ''TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' once he catches the Pox. Still, apart from his uncontrollable shouting, he's fairly reasonable for being a bloodthirsty voodoo-pox-stricken pirate judge presiding over a court filled with an equally bloodthristy, pox-stricken audience of pirates.

* Judge Doom in ''WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' What makes him even more sinister than the other judges, is the fact that Toontown is under his power and he certainly has enough influence around LA to say that [[JudgeJuryAndExecutioner he pretty much is the law-enforcement of the city]] and the good police forces are nothing more than pawns [[JustFollowingOrders just doing their work]]

* The Judge in ''{{Ghostbusters}} 2'', who wanted to have the ghostbusters burned at the stake... [[spoiler:Until the ghosts of the Scoleri brothers, who he had sent to the chair in the past, attacked the courtroom, proving the Ghostbusters weren't a fraud]].