A Win

Work Comp court is much different than Law and Order court. It's admin law- just judges; no juries. It's more like Judge Judy, if you must have a comparison, but if Judge Judy took off the robe, quit taking caffeine pills, and had control over the volume of her voice.

While jury trials are all 7th Amendment precious, there's something nice about knowing that your case is very likely to be decided only on its merits, and not on whether your client is wearing a juice-stained t-shirt, doesn't speak English, used to be addicted to pain pills, smells bad, or possesses some other trait that would likely affect a jury's neutral evaluation of the issues.

That being said, I sometimes feel like there is a sort of hazing among the small world of work comp law-- I'm the new girl on the block and thus, the judges make me lose (on small matters) so that I stay humble and don't think it's easy as pie. (Trust me, it's not easy.)

So, today when I saw this decision come across my desk, I had to do a double-take. I won! A minor and interlocutory victory, but a victory nonetheless. I like it. And I really like that judge.

Bring on the juice-stained, non-English speaking, smelly recovering addict. Together, we can seize the day.