Let me start by saying that most judges are capable, qualified, run their rings well, are courteous to the exhibitors and their steward, and respect the dogs they're examining. Most of them have a clear idea of what the breed standard says and how it relates to the purpose of the breed. They judge "the dog on the day." Even when you don't win, you can agree that you've gotten a fair shake.
There are others as well. The ones who judge too fast or too slow. The one who tells you, "She has such beautiful breed type," as they hand you the Best of Opposite Sex ribbon. The politician who only puts up professional handlers. The "dirty old men" who put up pretty young things (and there are "dirty old ladies" too!). The crabapples who think they're God (or maybe a bit higher) and treat exhibitors rudely.
The most irritating one is the rough judge. Some judges manage to examine dogs with a light hand, others are much more "hands on," which some dogs don't like. Worst of all are the ones who are so abrupt that the dog is actually frightened. At Lacey and Silver's first show, held on a hot early summer day, the judge came up and roughly grabbed them by the muzzle. The second time he did it, my lovely bride took his hand away and just about told him not to do it. Another judge was so brutal in examining our puppy Titan at his first show that Titan was spooked for some time thereafter. As a later show, Connie Barton realized what the problem was and was very gentle with Titan and saw to it that even if he wasn't going to win he would have a good time. Mrs. Barton always gets an entry from us.
I like to see judges take their time with the puppy classes. It's a new and bewildering experience for the youngsters and a judge who's somewhat indulgent about their antics, careful with the examination, and allows the exhibitor to gait them more than once will do a lot for a puppy's self-confidence, even if they don't get the win.
Failure to judge consistently is a source of annoyance to exhibitors. A judge whose first place in each class goes to a completely different type of dog is one who gives the appearance of not knowing what they're doing. Overemphasis on one feature is the opposite side of the coin. A judge who can't look past the headpiece, or only cares about side movement is not looking at the whole dog.
Another way judges go wrong is to indulge in "fault judging." Instead of determining to what extent a dog comes up to their ideal for the breed, they mentally deduct for what they perceive as deficiencies from the ideal. The result is that a quite average dog with no great virtues but no great faults is rewarded over a much better dog with a more noticeable defect. For example, our Lacey has two noticeable flaws: her backskull is a little broader than we'd want and she doesn't carry good coat. She rarely loses to dogs of superior quality. If she loses, it's often to a solid, stolid sort of dog without much to recommend it save its lack of obvious deficiencies.
There are some top specials around who aren't as good as their reputation indicates. They're with the best handlers and their backers advertise them heavily. Judges can be scared not to put them up in the Group ring or even the breed ring because [insert name of big-time judge here] put them up before. A good judge will look beyond that in making his choice. The great Alva Rosenberg, asked why he didn't give a prize to a dog with a long winning streak, replied, "I'm not responsible for the mistakes of others."
What's the exhibitor to do about a good judge or a bad one? If it's a judgment call, there's not much recourse beyond never entering under that judge again. For procedural matters, the AKC representative can be called over, but they're not likely to do anything much. It's also possible to write to the AKC's Judges Department, either with praise or complaint. I wrote one letter praising a judge, Carl Liepmann, doing Junior Showmanship at the end of a long, cold, rainy day. After he was finished, he took the time to call the kids back into the ring and explain what he was looking for and give tips on handling.
Ultimately, the exhibitor has a choice: enter under a judge or don't enter. Since the judges are frequently paid for every dog that's entered, bad ones will eventually find out what the fancy thinks of them.