Professor Ayer Comments on A&P Bankruptcy for Bloomberg Podcast
Professor John D. "Jack" Ayer was quoted at length in the September 14 Bloomberg Law Bankruptcy Review podcast featuring Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia and Bloomberg News bankruptcy columnist Bill Rochelle.
Rochelle quotes from a conversation in which Professor Ayer stated that "Raw intelligence is very far from the most important quality in a good judge. I'd put it at about sixth, after steadiness, predictability, the ability to listen, compassion, and street smarts." Highly intelligent judges can often lack patience and fail to pursue simple solutions, Ayer explains.
Ayer opposes putting young lawyers on the bench, "especially smart young lawyers," Rochelle said, "because they stay around for a while, the learning curve flattens out, and they turn into Mickey Mouse in the ‘Sorcerer's Apprentice,' and they get weird."
John D. Ayer is a professor emeritus at the UC Davis School of Law and an expert in bankruptcy law.