Aurora Starchild
“We live in Hell,” posts a Twitter user along with screenshots of a judge on TikTok. Yes, that’s right. TikTok. Judge Dawson was wearing a robe as well as… a fake mustache and hat, added using filters.
Videos by Rare
Judge Dawson started using TikTok in February of 2021 and since then has garnered 588,700 followers. He has over 1.3 million likes. His TikTok profile, @JudgeDawson, says “a Yogi and a Judge.”
Live-streaming court appearances seems highly controversial. Firstly, while court is public, the concept of broadcasting people’s dealings with the courts seems to overstep ethical boundaries and privacy. Instead of a courtroom appearance being public to those actually present, now a bunch of irrelevant people can chime in, comment, and even harass.
Do we really need to air all that dirty laundry? Come on.
But Judge Dawson says he never actually shows the defendants. The entire time, he has his phone camera pointed at himself. Sometimes, he’s adding silly filters.
The TikTok Judge/Yogi/social media star serves on the bench in East Cleveland, Ohio. He’s been a judge for about a decade. He says his mission and intention in utilizing TikTok is to help educate the public and help reduce crime and recidivism.
“Maybe the same mistakes that the person in front of me has made, someone else has made in California or another country,” he told News 5 Cleveland. “Through social media, I can reach even more people and let them know that ‘hey, the justice system can work for you. It doesn’t always have to be negative.’”
He posts about yoga, dancing, and having fun. It’s not all courtroom shenanigans.
“I think it’s important to show people that we are people, too, even though when I put on the robe, I am very serious, I’m going to call it how I’m supposed to call it as a judge, but I’m also a father, I’m a husband and I like to have fun, too,” he said.
@judgedawson
So, Judge Dawson is trying to destigmatize the court system by showing his human side.
The practice is rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. On one hand, Judge Dawson seems to have positive intentions. On the other hand, live-streaming criminal cases seems kind of exploitive.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
