Imagine you have committed a crime. If you are up on your behavioural economics you will be hoping to have your case heard either early in the day or just after a scheduled break such as lunch: a 2011 study of more than 1,000 rulings by eight judges found that those times coincided with the greatest leniency in judges’ rulings. Those who fared worst were heard at the end of the day or just before lunch, when there was about a zero chance of receiving a favourable ruling. How hungry or tired a judge is should have no impact on their ruling, and yet the data says it does.
