New judges usually make horrendous mistakes. Even in simple cases. The learning curve is steep. Good defense lawyers can do well with these types. Think Judge Ito. That said, they make bad pretrial mistakes.
When Judge Ito heard OJ, he had already been on the bench for over a decade, and had been a Supervising Judge in the downtown criminal court house. Is is an excellent jurist in every respect. There is no judge I know, and I know many, who would have done a better job.
OJ was a first of kind case. All judges have learned from that case.
While I sympathize with this judge - I’m sure he’s talented and will do his best - being a judge is very difficult. To master it, it takes lots training , experience and study. In Los Angeles, this case would be assigned to a judge on the 9th floor of the downtown criminal courts building which is specially set aside for these types of cases. The judge would be someone with 15-30 years experience who has demonstrated a mastery of the profession.
I wish the Atlanta judge good luck.