After the judge hears any possible statement from the convicted…do they (the judge) ever ask any questions or say they’re going to take a recess to ponder?
Or do they pretty much have their minds made up going in and it doesn’t matter if Jesus came down to speak for the convicted that day?
Yes, sometimes they do.
Need answer fast?
Depending on jurisdiction and the applicable law,sentencing may be done forthwith or after a delay of months and after hearing evidence on particular issues.
I’ve represented hundreds of defendants at sentencing. In our jurisdiction, they delay sentencing to get pre-sentence reports from the State, the defense, and the probation department. They have a lot a material to ponder over, and plenty of time. I’ve never seen a judge take any extra time to ponder a defendants little speech. It is not unheard of for the judge to ask a few questions, but I’d estimate it’s less than 1/3 of the time.