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68 Dep't of Just. J. Fed. L. & Prac. 47 (2020)
A View from the Bench: What a Judge Expects

handle is hein.journals/usab68 and id is 626 raw text is: A View from the Bench: What a Judge Expects Michael H. Simon United States District Judge District of Oregon Almost 40 years have gone by in an instant. My first job after law school was as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice (Department), Antitrust Division. I began in September 1981. I also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) in the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. My first jury trial as a SAUSA resulted in a conviction for armed bank robbery. My second jury trial, where I served as second chair, led to a conviction on all 13 counts of white-collar fraud. In 1986, my wife and I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I spent the next 25 years at a private law firm, handling civil cases and trying a fair number of them. In June 2011, I began my current position as a United States District Judge. One of the most memorable days during this entire time (after my wedding 35 years ago and the birth of my two children) was the first time I stood in a federal courtroom, stated my name, and announced, representing the United States of America. Another special day was taking the oath of office as a federal district judge. In reflecting on the question, What does a federal judge expect from an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA), I answer that by saying that we expect you to know 10 things: (1) know your client; (2) know your audience; (3) know the standards to which you will be held; (4) know how to advocate; (5) know the law; (6) know at least a little about every other discipline; (7) know how to be a professional; (8) know yourself; (9) know what is right (and do it); and (10) know the other. Here is a mnemonic device to help you remember them: Casa le Pyro. Think of a burning house, or a house of the fire, or a casa (house, in Spanish or Italian), le (the, in French), and pyro (fire, in Greek). (The of' is silent.) An AUSA is much like the heroic firefighter rushing into a burning house: well-trained, skillful, brave, selfless, and having a passion to serve others. Think of the house of the fire, and you will think, Casa le Pyro. From there, it is easy to remember the 10 things an AUSA needs to know: Client, Audience, Standards, Advocacy, Law, Everything else, Professionalism, Yourself, Right, DOJ Journal of Federal Law and Practice September 2020 47

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