History Main / HangingJudge

** The Dark Judges, however, ARE this. Judge Death's CatchPhrase is "The crime is life, the sentence is death!" after all, and even before becoming an undead monster, he was [[ExaggeratedTrope an extreme case]]. As a trainee Judge, he executed every single person brought before him, even a couple who only wanted a divorce. They reconciled just before the trial in an attempt to avoid his judgment, [[MovingTheGoalposts so instead he executes them for "wasting the court's time"]].

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Freisler Roland Freisler]], President of the People's Court of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, a notorious ''[[KangarooCourt Sondergericht]]'' ("Special Court") that was set up outside the operations of the constitutional frame of law, and was usually employed against resisters to the Nazi regime and other political enemies. He was known for (in his additional role as court reporter) manipulating the transcripts to make the defendants guilty, and also for screaming the sentences to defendants -- so much so that in one politically-charged trial, the news media found it hard to comprehend what he was saying. He acted as [[JudgeJuryAndExecutioner judge, jury, and prosecutor,]] and was responsible in his three years on the bench for the majority of the death sentences the court ever issued - including some, like Helmuth Hubener ([[WouldHurtAChild only 17]]), [[EvenEvilHasStandards despite the recommendations of the Gestapo against executing him]]. [[LaserGuidedKarma Freisler was killed by a collapsed beam when a bomb fell on his courthouse]]. The bombers responsible for the raid were led by one Lieutenant Colonel Robert Rosenthal, a [[DeathByIrony Jewish lawyer]] from Brooklyn. Freisler was so hated, [[EvenEvilHasStandards even by other Nazis]], that the wife of General Alfred Jodl later recounted that a local worker remarked "[[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing It's God's verdict!]]" in public upon seeing Freisler's corpse and not only got away with it, but no one even deigned to contradict him.

* Judge Chamberlain Haller, of ''Film/MyCousinVinny'', is a notable aversion of this trope. He does allow his dislike for Vinny to color his judgment ''once'' and make a bad decision, but on the whole, he's a stickler for proper courtroom procedure and brooks absolutely no nonsense from Vinny or anybody else but is also very fair and ends up praising Vinny's skills as a litigator after he wins the case.

* The bishop who presided over the trial of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc, Pierra Cauchon, basically functioned as this during her trial. He deliberately violated numerous rules of ecclesiastic (church) court procedure in order to get her convicted so he could have her killed, with the most glaring offence being stuffing the tribunal to the gills with pro-English clergy without [[FoxNewsLiberal a single pro-France clergyman to provide any counterbalance]]. In addition, the trial shouldn't even have happened at all because she was held in a state prison guarded by soldiers instead of a church prison guarded by nuns, which ended up reinforcing the crossdressing charges she was convicted on by forcing her to keep wearing men's clothing so she could avoid being raped by the guards[[note]]Her trousers, doublet, and boots could all be fastened together so they couldn't be pulled off easily.[[/note]]

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' has hanging prosecutors, who rule the courtroom with an iron fist (or whip or [[MustHaveCaffeine coffee cup]]). The judge technically passes the final verdict but is largely ineffectual and the prosecutors can do whatever they want. Thankfully, pushing the judge too far causes him to push back, so justice has a fighting chance. One trial has the Judge's brother sort of acting as one mainly thanks to [[spoiler:[[BitchInSheepsClothing Dahlia Hawthorne]]]] having the entire courtroom wrapped around her finger. This is largely the result of the difference in the legal culture in Japan, where prosecutors have far greater power in the courtroom and often have an absurdly high conviction rate.

** Judge Jeffreys starred in Creator/NealStephenson's ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle'' as one of the protagonists' nemeses.
** He was also a villain in Creator/PeterSBeagle's ''Literature/{{Tamsin}}''.
** He appears in Creator/RafaelSabatini's ''Literature/CaptainBloodHisOdyssey'' and in the [[Film/CaptainBlood film]] based thereon; Sabatini incorporates historical dialogue reportedly used by Jeffreys from the bench.
** Jeffreys also appears in the background of M. R. James's [[{{Horror}} ghost story]], "A Neighbour's Landmark," and in person in his "Martin's Close."
** Creator/ChristopherLee played Judge Jeffreys in ''The Bloody Judge'' (released in the US under the title ''[[GoryDeadlyOverkillTitleOfFatalDeath Night of the Blood Monster]]'').

* [[OlderThanFeudalism Athenian]] lawgiver Draco is the UrExample, giving us the word "[[TropeNamers draconian]]" to describe excessively harsh punishment. It is said that when asked why [[AllCrimesAreEqual minor offences get the same death sentence as the serious ones]], he said that in his view these lesser crimes deserved them, and he couldn't think of any punishment harsher than death for more serious ones (good thing they [[FateWorseThanDeath didn't have]] Website/TVTropes back then). Incidentally, the Greeks of his time regarded him as a genius and a courageous and enlightened lawgiver. Mostly because he also brought several innovations, perhaps the most important being an explicitly written code of law that all literate citizens could read (and all illiterate citizens could have verified by any random literate person they found), instead of oral traditions arbitrarily interpreted by a special caste. In other words, the law was harsh, but at least it was ''definite.''

* The bishop who presided over the trial of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc, Pierra Cauchon, basically functioned as this during her trial. He deliberately violated numerous rules of ecclesiastic (church) court procedure in order to get her convicted so he could have her killed, with the most glaring offence being stuffing the tribunal to the gills with pro-English clergy without [[FoxNewsLiberal a single pro-France clergyman to provide any counterbalance]]. In addition, the trial shouldn't even have happened at all because she was held in a state prison guarded by soldiers instead of a church prison guarded by nuns, which ended up reinforcing the crossdressing charges she was convicted on by forcing her to keep wearing men's clothing so she could avoid being raped by the guards[[note]]Her trousers, doublet, and boots could all be fastened together so they couldn't be pulled off easily.[[/note]]
* The only sentence available for those convicted by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehmic_court Vehmic courts]] of Westphalia in Medieval Germany was death by hanging.

** In ''AnimeDanganronpa3TheEndPfHopesPeakHighSchool'', [[spoiler:he (or rather, the Mastermind) declared all the paricipants guilty from the start, and sets them up for failure, hoping that the game or their infighting will finish each other off. The only reason any survivors could even exist is because one of them wasn't supposed to be there, forcing him to pivot his original plans.]]

* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'': In Despair Academy's courtroom, Judge Monokuma already ''[[BigBrotherIsWatching knows]]'' [[BigBrotherIsWatching who's guilty]], and has the [[CruelAndUnusualDeath perfect punishment]] in mind! But if the jury gets it ''wrong'', well, they '''all''' pay the price... and the murderer [[DeadlyGraduation gets to graduate]]! And by Chapter 4 [[spoiler:he starts planting false evidence to make the trial more interesting, and by Chapter 5 he's actively interfering with the trial when everyone gets too close to the truth (that there ''was'' no victim; the body was long dead before anyone found it.)]]

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' has hanging prosecutors, who rule the courtroom with an iron fist (or [[WhipItGood whip]] or [[MustHaveCaffeine coffee cup]]). The judge technically passes the final verdict but is largely ineffectual and the prosecutors can do whatever they want. Thankfully, pushing the judge too far causes him to push back, so justice has a fighting chance. One trial has the Judge's brother sort of acting as one mainly thanks to [[spoiler:[[BitchInSheepsClothing Dahlia Hawthorne]]]] having the entire courtroom wrapped around her finger. This is largely the result of the difference in the legal culture in Japan, where prosecutors have far greater power in the courtroom and often have an absurdly high conviction rate.

** Judge Whitey, who treads the line between embracing and parodying an {{Acceptable Professional Target|s}}, filled up every mental asylum in New York when he declared being poor a mental illness. (TruthInTelevision: Poverty really was once considered a mental illness and in a study, it is shown that a judge will more likely give a harsher ruling just before their lunch break, with more lenient sentences afterward.) In "31st Century Fox", he presides over a trial to determine whether the robot fox is a protected species... while being part of a foxhunting club. In fact, he was wearing a foxhunting outfit under his judge's robes.

[[caption-width-right:350:There's a reason why people don't want to [[{{Pun}} hang]] around him.]]

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Freisler Roland Freisler]], President of the People's Court of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, a notorious ''[[KangarooCourt Sondergericht]]'' ("Special Court") that was set up outside the operations of the constitutional frame of law, and was usually employed against resisters to the Nazi regime and other political enemies. He was known for (as his additional role as being court reporter) manipulating the transcripts to make the defendants guilty, and also for screaming the sentences to defendants -- so much so that in one politically-charged trial, the news media found it hard to comprehend what he was saying. He acted as [[JudgeJuryAndExecutioner judge, jury, and prosecutor,]] and was responsible in his three years on the bench for the majority of the death sentences the court ever issued - including some, like Helmuth Hubener ([[WouldHurtAChild only 17]]), [[EvenEvilHasStandards despite the recommendations of the Gestapo against executing him]]. [[LaserGuidedKarma Freisler was killed by a collapsed beam when a bomb fell on his courthouse]]. The bombers responsible for the raid were led by one Lieutenant Colonel Robert Rosenthal, a [[DeathByIrony Jewish lawyer]] from Brooklyn. Freisler was so hated, [[EvenEvilHasStandards even by other Nazis]], that the wife of General Alfred Jodl later recounted that a local worker remarked "[[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing It's God's verdict!]]" in public upon seeing Freisler's corpse and not only got away with it, but no one even deigned to contradict him.

* Doc Hudson's first appearance in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' implies he is one of these.

** And that's ''before'' he recognizes Lightning as being [[BerserkButton a race car]].

* In "Trial" on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', ComicBook/TheJoker eagerly takes to this sort of role. When he's introduced as the judge in Batman's [[KangarooCourt trial]], he immediately slams the gavel and pronounces "GUILTY!" (He's persuaded to continue the trial anyway.) After the trial is over with a not-guilty verdict, Joker decides to execute Batman anyway. He even ''calls'' himself "Ol' Hanging Judge Joker" [[VisualPun while suspended from a rope]].

* Archon Makbar in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Tribunal" is a true believer in the... ''efficiency'' of the [[KangarooCourt Cardassian justice system]].
-->'''Makbar''': The sentence is death. Let the trial begin.
* Gleefully embodied by Q in his first ([[spoiler:and [[BookEnds last]]]]) appearance on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration.'' His 'courtroom' is ironically modeled on the {{Kangaroo Court}}s of the early 21st century, when atomic war had reduced Earth to a ''Mad Max'' dystopia.
-->'''Q''': Soldiers, you will press those triggers if this criminal answers with any word other than 'guilty'.

* [[MeaningfulName Judge Gallows]] from ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' spin-off ''The Dreaming'' (and the earlier horror anthology ''ComicBook/{{Unexpected}}'').

* In ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'', after Dilbert assaults a VengefulVendingMachine for giving him nothing for his money, [[CatsAreMean Catbert]] in H.R. gives him the death penalty just because it's "more economical" for the company than counseling. Dilbert is pardoned after Dogbert and Bob the dinosaur have a not-so-friendly meeting with Catbert involving a "fur wedgie."

* In ''FanFic/LegendsOfTheFourthOfJulyCoreline'', most of the drama that the story's super-heroine protagonist (an AlternateSelf version of [[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Mari Illustrious Makinami]] as she appears in ''Fanfic/SOEAmericanDream'', meaning she has the powers (and training) of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica) suffers is because she couldn't stop a super-villainous Alternate of herself from blowing up a mall construction zone (she ''did'' prevented her from bringing the bomb to a place with innocents, though) and her case is reviewed by an Alternate version of [[ComicBook/SpiderMan J. Jonah Jameson]] that became a judge with a full-blown hard-on hatred for superheroes. She gets an incredibly harsh probation with the sleaziest supervising officer that Jameson can scrounge up, he makes it clear that he believes she has in cahoots with the villainous Alternate of herself, and the only thing her friends can tell her afterwards is that she should be thanking her lucky stars that she [[FantasticRacism didn't have]] [[BerserkButton Spider-Man powers]], otherwise he would have gotten all the crap she's suffering ''and'' a super-harsh prison sentence, if not something a hell of a lot ''worse''.

** Judge [[SinisterMinister Claude Frollo]], a ruthless, self-righteous, and religiously pious Minister of Justice of Paris who is Quasimodo's reluctant guardian. Due to his god complex, he believes that he is above everyone else and can do no wrong and that the world around him is full of corruption except within himself.

* Both versions of Judge Turpin in ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'', although the fact that the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Code Bloody Code]] was still in force at the time may explain some of it. He's still far from sympathetic.

* Weird Pete when he is presiding over 'Gamer's Court' in ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable''. Quite frankly, any kind of power seems to go to Pete's head.

** In ''Weird Western Tales'' #17, Jonah clashes with Judge Hatchet; a female judge nicknamed 'The Hangin' Woman' for her harsh sentences. She is a CorruptHick who rules her small town with a fist of iron, sending her three sons to poison the cattle and burn the crops of anyone who refuses to knuckle under to her authority.
** Jonah confronts another one in the story "The Hangman" in ''Weird Western Tales'' #35. Marshal Sam Lehman is a CorruptHick who is both the town marshal and judge. He makes almost every offence a hanging offence (such as hanging a saloon girl for filching ten dollars from a drunken cowhand) as the frequent public hangings attract business to the town.

** Roy Bean also shows up in the 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 CorruptHick 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 Alvin 'J.P' Valkenheiser in ''Film/NothingButTrouble''. He's a CorruptHick who rules his courtroom like a tyrant, and executes anyone he hates (especially stinkin' ''bankers''!) by sentencing them to a ride on the "Bonestripper".

* Country artist Vicki Lawrence's "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" is about a man executed by a hanging judge after being wrongly accused of killing his cheating wife and her lover. [[spoiler:His sister, the narrator, was the one who killed them both.]] It includes the lyric "...the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands."

A Hanging Judge is a ruthless judge who rules his courtroom with an iron fist as his own personal fiefdom. He will hand out brutal sentences [[AllCrimesAreEqual for the most minor infractions]]. He may be corrupt and using the law for his own ends, a CorruptHick using his power to dominate the local community, a KnightTemplar who believes his punishments are justified, or a bully who gets off on abusing his power. Any hero who ends up hauled before him can expect no mercy and precious little justice, especially if this guy happens to hate them--impartiality is ''anything'' but guaranteed with a judge of this kind. You better have an AmoralAttorney at your side when you confront the Hanging Judge in the courtroom, or it's guaranteed that you won't walk out a free bird after the trial. The canonical alignment for this guy is LawfulEvil.