The lawyer tells Molly that the judge is predictable and therefore, he will follow the prosecutors sentencing reccomendation. So at the end, after Molly [spoiler]pleads guilty, the judge calls the prosecutors up to the bench. Did he ask the prosecutor for a sentencing recommendation, and did they tell the judge to give Molly community service? Or did the judge decide not to jail Molly on his own?[/Spoiler]
shareI suspect it was added drama. But likely he wanted to give them a heads-up that he was not going to follow their sentencing recommendation.
shareBoth the judge and Molly's lawyer already knew the sentencing recommendation from paperwork the prosecutors filed before the court date. It was done for dramatic effect, Molly's lawyer (and the audience) was supposed to pick up on it being something out of the ordinary that would work in her favor. A similar thing happened in the arraignment scene where he decided to represent her.
shareThe judge probably said something like "hey, I'm not seeing how the punishment fits the crime here. Is there anything I'm missing?"
They demur.
So he waves them away and he makes his ruling.