How do you address a Judge in Spanish?
When addressing a Judge in Spain (or Latin America) what would you call them? In most English-speaking (and Common Law) jurisdictions it would be 'your honour', is there a similar protocol in Spanish speaking jurisdictions?
Thanks in advance!
5 Answers
Your Honor. "Su Señoría"
¿ Con respeto ?
I have experience of appearing at court in Britain, so know that there are various forms of address depending on the court. In Britain 'your/my honour' tends to be used in the lower courts. In Scotland, where I reside, it's usually 'my lord(or my lady)', while in England this often becomes 'm'lud', which is a kind of hackneyed version of 'my lord'.
I really have no idea what the norm might be in Spanish-speaking countries. However, I would venture to suggest that if you use a polite, respectful form of address, e.g., señor, then you should be ok. If a judge corrects you because he believes his title is more important than his job, then he's not a judge before whom you would wish to appear. Although 'my lord' is normal in Scotland, many folk still use 'my honour', and only once have I heard a judge correct the individual. Can you imagine the reaction ? The judge said, 'I'm not your honour, I'm your lord.' Everyone in the courtroom laughed & I doubt that judge ever made the same mistake again !! 
As a (semi-) interesting aside, in strict courtroom parlance in Britain you should never refer to a judge as 'you', It's always 'my lord / your lordship'. For example, it should be 'if it please your lordship' (subjunctive), as opposed to 'if you want'. I believe the purpose of this is to objectify the court and to 'desubjectify' the judge (who, after all, only represents the authority of his court; he doesn't represent himself). An easy alternative is simply to avoid referring to the judge at all, and simply refer to the court instead, e.g, 'If it please the court'. Most judges in Britain before whom I've appeared understand that the court means them. I would be surprised if it's not the same in Spanish-speaking countries...
In Scotland, the most common kind of judge is called 'sheriff', but never actually call him that (except at cocktail parties, where it's ok), & never ever call him 'wiggy' despite the fact that he wears a stupid wig on his head (except at cocktail parties, where, hopefully, he's removed it)...
The post brings up an interesting thing. When I've explained why ""usted" is conjugated like the third person, I use the example of speaking to judges or royalty. "Are you eating?" versus "Is your honor eating?" It works for me.
Most judges in Spain are addressed as "su señoría," which translates to "your honor."
In Chile we used "Usía", not sure now.
