Because this film takes place in a small town, a lack of ethnic diversity is only to be expected; indeed, to the very end, Here On Earth contains exclusively white characters. The lone exception is Judge Maddick, a black woman possessing such refreshing qualities as "sassy" and "no-nonsense." Judge Maddick is played by Isabell Monk , whose distinguished career reflects her familiarity with such roles:

• Judge (Intolerable Cruelty)
• Judge (Here On Earth)
• Vice Principal (The Naked Man)
• Judge (With or Without You)
• Police Officer (Untamed Heart)
• Professor (Crossing the Bridge)
• Judge (Family Business)

None of this is to mention the incredible fact that her most recent credit was in a 2004 film called Justice.

As an authority figure, Judge Maddick is naturally unimpressed with Kelley and Jasper's situation, but her extra helping of attitude leads her to shoot down Kelley's lawyer's attempt at small talk by questioning his masculinity: "We're not bonding here, so don't get your dress over your head."

On the other hand, Judge Maddick's refusal to play games in her courtroom is undermined by her willingness to play along with the plot. While Judge Maddick seems to be all business ("That sounds nice, huh? Not in my court!"), she actually doesn't do much work besides taking suggestions from the peanut gallery until she hears one that suits her. To be fair, of course, her schedule must be packed with similar cases of troubled youths in desperate need of sentencing to grow up. Meanwhile, Kelley and Jasper must be wondering if they still have to complete their assignment since Judge Maddick kindly summarizes everything they're going to learn.

Samantha's conversation with her mother kicks off the film's other major plot thread, as she reminds her, "Remember what you said to me so many times?" As the Slow Roll has already warned you , it is unwise to trust a movie that involves characters announcing information that other characters already know. Here On Earth may be different, however, because this line (about everything being okay as long as everyone is alive) provides Samantha a valuable chance to inform the audience of how dead she's going to be by the end of the movie.