(יח) שֹׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק׃ (יט) לֹא־תַטֶּ֣ה מִשְׁפָּ֔ט לֹ֥א תַכִּ֖יר פָּנִ֑ים וְלֹא־תִקַּ֣ח שֹׁ֔חַד כִּ֣י הַשֹּׁ֗חַד יְעַוֵּר֙ עֵינֵ֣י חֲכָמִ֔ים וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף דִּבְרֵ֥י צַדִּיקִֽם׃ (כ) צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף לְמַ֤עַן תִּֽחְיֶה֙ וְיָרַשְׁתָּ֣ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃ {ס}
(18) You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. (19) You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. (20) Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Why are the judges told three times to judge fairly?
Rabbi Audrey R. Korotkin explains that this verse from Micah allows us to see why the judges were told to judge fairly three times -- it is not just about justice, but about adding goodness and humility to your role and responsibilities. (https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/it-takes-two-me-and-you)
(ח) הִגִּ֥יד לְךָ֛ אָדָ֖ם מַה־טּ֑וֹב וּמָֽה־יְהֹוָ֞ה דּוֹרֵ֣שׁ מִמְּךָ֗ כִּ֣י אִם־עֲשׂ֤וֹת מִשְׁפָּט֙ וְאַ֣הֲבַת חֶ֔סֶד וְהַצְנֵ֥עַ לֶ֖כֶת עִם־אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ {ס}
(8) “He has told you, O man, what is good, And what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice And to love goodness, And to walk modestly with your God;
Rabbi Sarah Bassin, however, sees the repetition "as a more comprehensive reflection on the law. The Torah first offers the imperative, 'You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes . . . and they shall govern the people with due justice' (Deuteronomy 16:18). How do they govern with due justice? The next verse tells us: 'you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just' (Deuteronomy 16:19). And if our society does this, what happens? 'You may thrive and occupy the land that the Eternal your God is giving you' (Deuteronomy 16:20). These three verses give us the 'what,' the 'how,' and then the 'why.'"
(https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/it-takes-two-me-and-you)
(https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/it-takes-two-me-and-you)
Are judges supposed to focus on justice or on mercy?
"Rabbi Korotkin offers a perspective on Shof’tim in which God’s mercy compensates for the human need for justice—a need that can morph into an unholy vengeance. Yet mercy misapplied can be just as tyrannical as overzealous justice.... [The three verses] also indicate a greater concern about the misuse of mercy than of justice. The text recognizes that we may be too lenient and overlook the need for justice on account of a favored relationship, or more crassly, money.
"Excessive mercy can destroy a person and a society just as easily as fanatical justice. When Musar literature speaks of the trait of mercy, it cautions against its overuse because we may allow the guilty 'to follow the evil promptings of his heart. Such pity despoils him and deprives him of life in the World-to-Come.' (Rabbi Shraga Silverstein, trans., The Ways of the Tzaddikim: On Refining Character Traits and Maintaining Balance in All Matters (Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1995)) Justice is no less divine than mercy. We as humans just need some extra help to know what to use when."
(https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/it-takes-two-me-and-you)
"Excessive mercy can destroy a person and a society just as easily as fanatical justice. When Musar literature speaks of the trait of mercy, it cautions against its overuse because we may allow the guilty 'to follow the evil promptings of his heart. Such pity despoils him and deprives him of life in the World-to-Come.' (Rabbi Shraga Silverstein, trans., The Ways of the Tzaddikim: On Refining Character Traits and Maintaining Balance in All Matters (Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1995)) Justice is no less divine than mercy. We as humans just need some extra help to know what to use when."
(https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/it-takes-two-me-and-you)