Misva #590: Not to Sway the Judgment of a Foreigner or Orphan

The Torah commands in Parashat Ki-Teseh (Debarim 24:17), “Lo Tateh Mishpat Ger Yatom” – forbidding judges from “swaying” a trial involving a litigant who is either a foreigner or an orphan. A judge might tilt the decision in one of two opposite directions in a such a case. First, since foreigners and orphans are, generally, weaker and more vulnerable, the judge might not take their arguments seriously, and might have a natural bias in favor of the other litigant, who is likely wealthier and more well-known. Conversely, the judge might tilt the decision in favor of the foreigner or orphan, out of pity for this litigant’s disadvantaged condition. The Torah commands that a judge must be honest and impartial when handling such cases, without showing bias toward the foreigner or orphan, or to the opposing litigant. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that if a litigant is both a foreigner and an orphan, then the judge who sways the decision in either direction violates this prohibition twice – as he sways the judgment of both a foreigner and an orphan. Additionally, the Sefer Ha’hinuch notes, the judge violates the separate prohibition of “Lo Ta’asu Avel Ba’mishpat” (Vayikra 19:15), which forbids judges from ruling unjustly. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that although this command is generally applicable to men – as only men serve as judges – it can, in some instances, be relevant even to women. If the litigants agree to bring their dispute to a female judge, and have her try the case, then she becomes bound by this prohibition, and would thus transgress this command if she sways the judgment against or in favor of a foreigner or orphan.