Voting Station

John J. Sirica

Please vote to return to collections.

Judge

The Resume

    (March 19, 1904-August 14, 1992)
    Born in Waterbury, Connecticut
    Served on the US District Court for Washington, DC (1957-86)
    Chief Judge of the District Court (1971-74)
    Presided over the Watergate burglary trial

Why he might be annoying:

    As a lawyer he lost the first 13 felony cases he was assigned.
    During an argument at the prosecutors' office, he punched a vice squad cop.
    He was appointed to the District Court as a political favor.
    Lawyers who argued before him complained of his short temper and frequent legal errors.
    His decisions were reversed on appeal more often than those of other judges.
    During the Watergate trials, many observers said that he acted more like a prosecutor than a judge.

Why he might not be annoying:

    As Chief Judge of the District Court, he could have assigned the Watergate case to one of 14 other judges, but took the case himself because he felt there would be no charges of partisanship if a Republican judge heard the case.
    He told the defendants, 'Don't pull any punches – you give me straight answers.'
    When he accused the Watergate burglars of not telling him the truth, he was right.
    By putting pressure on the defendants, he exposed the Nixon White House's abuse of power.
    His order for Nixon to produce tape recordings being sought as evidence by the Watergate special prosecutor was upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court.

Credit: bruce


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 19 Votes: 47.37% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 31.25% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 17 Votes: 88.24% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 23 Votes: 60.87% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 24 Votes: 54.17% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 94 Votes: 73.40% Annoying