
This establishes almost every important part of his character in a single scene. Then he tells the ex-wife exactly who to talk to at the dealership when she sells it back, and then makes an off-hand comment about figuring out how pregnancy happens. When the guy protests he's broke and unemployed, Joseph confiscates his new truck, and shrugs off his protests with a short but important speech about the law. Establishing Character Moment: Several, but notable is Joseph's first scene, where he's presiding over a child support hearing.This royally pisses Hank off because he's shown to be an attentive and loving father who can't spend as much time with his daughter as he wants due to his work. Disappeared Dad: Hank's wife accuses him of being this and used it to justify having affairs.He's ultimately successful in having Joseph convicted, but later signs off on his compassionate release so he doesn't have to die in prison. He's accused of acting on a personal vendetta against Joseph, but he insists that's ridiculous, as he's simply trying the case based on the facts.



Hank decides to defend his father in court after the latter's initial choice for attorney proves disastrous, and the younger Palmer faces tough prosecutor Dwight Dickham ( Billy Bob Thornton), who is pushing for a first-degree murder charge. Once he arrives, he reunites with several members of his family, including older brother Glen ( Vincent D'Onofrio), younger brother Dale (Jeremy Strong), and his father, local judge Joseph Palmer (Duvall), with whom Hank doesn't have a very good relationship.Īlthough Hank decides to leave due to the friction between himself and Joseph, he is forced to remain in town when it's revealed that Joseph was involved in a fatal hit-and-run involving a victim he previously ruled on during a court case. Hank Palmer (Downey) is a successful defense attorney who has received news that his mother has passed, and returns to his hometown of Carlinville, Indiana to attend the funeral. The Judge is a 2014 legal drama film directed by David Dobkin ( Wedding Crashers), starring Robert Downey Jr.
