My blog

Editor's note: Judge John DiMotto, who has served on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court for 20 years, started a blog on Dec. 3, 2009. It's called "Bench and Bar Experiences/A blog to record and convey the daily experiences of a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge." The blog can be found at http://johndimotto.blogspot.com (external link).

He recently answered a few questions about his endeavor:

Why did you start the blog?
I wanted to try and communicate to the public at large about the life of a judge. A lot of people have no idea, because they don't come to court, what a judge does. If they watch "Law and Order" and the other TV shows, they may have a sense that judges are cryptic, acerbic and arrogant. But we are real people with real emotions who really care. And so I thought this would give me an opportunity to talk about the life of a judge, why a judge wants to be a judge, what service we can perform. It intrigued me.

How does one go about starting a blog?
You can search for "Google blog" and it'll take you to the Google blogspot and there's a "create a blog" link. It's very easy. I have a friend, Michael Horne, who used to be a news reporter and who now has a blog called Milwaukeeworld (www.milwaukeeworld.com (external link)). One noon hour, I got together with him and he helped me set up my blog. The following day, his lead story focused on my new blog. So, he is the person who got me into cyberspace.

How many followers do you have?
Fifteen have signed up as regular followers, but then you also get visitors. I've had 1,375 visits since Dec. 3. It helped that the blog was mentioned in both the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Wisconsin Law Journal.

What do you talk about on the blog?
Today I had part four of my blog on juror note taking and juror questions. I discussed the insight that lawyers can gain from juror questions. I've also blogged about judges and the media, jurors and the Internet and more.

How much time does the blog require?
I try to do one blog entry every morning before I go to work. I usually try to do at least one hyperlink in each entry so that people can find more information on the topic. It doesn't take long. 
 
What ethical issues do you keep in mind when blogging?
Our Code of Judicial Conduct applies in every forum. Any judge who starts up a blog should never say anything in a blog that you cannot stand up and say publicly.

What has been the biggest surprise in this experience?
That people from around the world have visited my site – Shanghai, Norway, Germany – and that I've had 1,375 visits in 45 days.

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