The Freudian slip is named after Sigmund Freud who wrote in his 1901 book The Psychopathology of Everyday Life about his theory that sometimes a verbal mistake reveals a repressed belief, thought, or emotion. Whether a particular utterance is really a Freudian slip or even if the theory is valid can be left for debate another day. Suffice it to say every judge knows there are days when you say something that just did not come out right. One of the most interesting blogs available is How Appealing which is written by Howard Bashman. He had a recent post that illustrates either a judge who just had a slip of the tongue or maybe a judge who proved the validity of Freud’s theory:
“After Ontario Superior Court judge’s slip-up, appeal seeks new trial for ‘Mr. Guilty'”: In today’s edition of The Toronto Globe and Mail, Kirk Makin has an article that begins, “Shortly before a Toronto jury left the courtroom to start deliberations at Prinze Wilson’s cocaine-trafficking trial last spring, Madam Justice Faye McWatt of the Ontario Superior Court stressed the need to respect his presumption of innocence. ‘It is only defeated if, and when, Crown counsel has satisfied you beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Guilty — I’m sorry, that Mr. Wilson — is guilty of the crime charged,’ Judge McWatt said.”