to become a judge

Before taking the bench, he worked in the district attorney's office.

The judges who have taken the bench in the last decade are a very different breed from their predecessors.

Soon after taking the bench, she presided over a very high-profile contract dispute.

Garman took the bench in 1995.

If a judge takes the bench, he or she begins a formal meeting of a law court.

The clerk told us that although the judge had taken the bench, he had ordered the doors to be kept closed.

We entered the courtroom shortly before the judges were due to take the bench.

He chatted with members of the defence team as he waited for the judge to take the bench.

The judge took the bench around 10.45 a.m.

See also: bench noun