--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A judge is a law student who marks his…" description: "\"A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.\" — H. L. Mencken" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/h-l-mencken-245_constitution_a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-o_3111939.png" --- # A judge is a law student who marks his own examination… ![“A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/h-l-mencken-245_constitution_a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-o_3111939.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/h-l-mencken-245_constitution_a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-o_3111939.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/h-l-mencken-245_constitution_a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-o_3111939.png) > “A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.” [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Judges evaluate the law they once studied, creating a conflict of interest. **In simple terms:** Judges are like students grading their own tests. Key Takeaway Beware of bias in self‑assessment. Themes justice bias self‑evaluation Mood critical skeptical Type aphorism satire When to use this quote - court rulings - law school exams - peer review Key Concepts conflict of interest legal ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can impartiality be ensured? - What mechanisms reduce self‑interest? A Different Perspective Legal systems have safeguards against such bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ## Related quotes > [Judge: a law student who marks his own examination-papers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/judge-a-law-student-who-marks-his-own-examination-papers/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I am sure from my experience of juries that, in a criminal case especially, they will obey the law as declared by the Judge;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/i-am-sure-from-my-experience-of-juries-that-in-a-criminal-case/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The Constitution overrides a statute, but a statute, if consistent with the Constitution, overrides the law of judges. In this sense, judge-made law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-constitution-overrides-a-statute-but-a-statute-if-consistent-with/) [Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/) > [A reasonable fine is such as the law will judge to be so . . . but what a reasonable fine is, and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yorke-1st-earl-of-hardwicke/a-reasonable-fine-is-such-as-the-law-will-judge-to-be-so-but-what-a/) Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke > [Our constitution, in short, is a judge-made constitution, and it bears on its face all the features, good and bad, of judge-made law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-v-dicey/our-constitution-in-short-is-a-judge-made-constitution-and-it-bears/) A. V. Dicey > [I take judge-made law as one of the existing realities of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cardozo/i-take-judge-made-law-as-one-of-the-existing-realities-of-life/) [Benjamin Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cardozo/) > [The judge is nothing but the law speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-whichcote/the-judge-is-nothing-but-the-law-speaking/) [Benjamin Whichcote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-whichcote/) > [Throughout my entire three years at Sussex I never spoke to another law student. I talked in tutorials but as soon as they finished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mortimer/throughout-my-entire-three-years-at-sussex-i-never-spoke-to-another/) [Bob Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mortimer/) > [I was a law student when I started acting in plays. I was a real estate lawyer but I continued acting on stage because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shraddha-srinath/i-was-a-law-student-when-i-started-acting-in-plays-i-was-a-real/) [Shraddha Srinath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shraddha-srinath/) > [“A month later the law student leaves you for one of her classmates, tells you that it was great but she has to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/a-month-later-the-law-student-leaves-you-for-one-of-her-classmates/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Let me guess, law student conference?" I started to walk around him, but stopped when I heard the clearly condescending nickname and the amusement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-sheridan/let-me-guess-law-student-conference-i-started-to-walk-around-him-but/) [Mia Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-sheridan/) > [I am absent altogether too much to be a suitable instructor for a law-student. When a man has reached the age that Mr. Widner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-absent-altogether-too-much-to-be-a-suitable-instructor-for-a-law/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“My nephew. He was a law student. A good Christian. He never kept girlfriends. He never missed a ceremonial meal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-david/my-nephew-he-was-a-law-student-a-good-christian-he-never-kept/) [S. A. David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-a-david/) > [I was married to a law student, and I used to attend classes with him at Georgetown University Law Center. Being of dramatic bent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luanne-rice/i-was-married-to-a-law-student-and-i-used-to-attend-classes-with-him/) [Luanne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luanne-rice/) > [I was a 23-year-old law student when I won the 'Great British Bake Off' in 2012. For 10 weeks I had balanced my degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-whaite/i-was-a-23-year-old-law-student-when-i-won-the-great-british-bake-off/) [John Whaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-whaite/) ## More by H. L. Mencken > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [A bad artist almost always tries to conceal his incompetence by whooping up a new formula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-bad-artist-almost-always-tries-to-conceal-his-incompetence-by/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Man's objection to love is that it dies hard; woman's, that when it is dead, it stays dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/man-s-objection-to-love-is-that-it-dies-hard-woman-s-that-when-it-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The lunatic fringe wags the underdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-lunatic-fringe-wags-the-underdog/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Women have simple tastes. They get pleasure out of the conversation of children in arms and men in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/women-have-simple-tastes-they-get-pleasure-out-of-the-conversation-of/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The critic, to interpret his artist, even to understand his artist, must be able to get into the mind of his artist; he must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-critic-to-interpret-his-artist-even-to-understand-his-artist-must/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [To the extent that I am genuinely educated, I am suspicious of all the things that the average citizen believes and the average pedagogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/to-the-extent-that-i-am-genuinely-educated-i-am-suspicious-of-all-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Philosophy first constructs a scheme of happiness and then tries to fit the world to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/philosophy-first-constructs-a-scheme-of-happiness-and-then-tries-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For it is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-the-natural-tendency-of-the-ignorant-to-believe-what-is-not/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) [Explore all 827 H. L. Mencken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## More Constitution quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [While not widely reported, our victories in Iraq are plentiful. National elections, a democratic parliament and the drafting of a constitution are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/while-not-widely-reported-our-victories-in-iraq-are-plentiful/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-coloration-of-whatever-may-be/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [There is not a revolution that succe Women are suffering because they are being excluded. The high military council excluded women from the committee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/there-is-not-a-revolution-that-succe-women-are-suffering-because-they/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“The Court has a special responsibility to ensure that the Constitution works in practice. While education, including the transmission of our civic values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/the-court-has-a-special-responsibility-to-ensure-that-the/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) Joe Pitts > [Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-constitution-can-be-final-truth/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [“I am apprehensive, Sir, that in the warmth of my feelings, I may have uttered expressions, which were too vehement. If such has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/i-am-apprehensive-sir-that-in-the-warmth-of-my-feelings-i-may-have/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) [Browse all 4,507 Constitution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H. L. Mencken" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-own-examination-papers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Constitution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-own-examination-papers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/h-l-mencken-245_constitution_a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-o_3111939.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/h-l-mencken-245_constitution_a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-o_3111939.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/h-l-mencken-245_constitution_a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-o_3111939.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.” — H. L. Mencken", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "H. L. Mencken", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A judge is a law student...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-own-examination-papers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-judge-is-a-law-student-who-marks-his-own-examination-papers/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```