Public Defender proves a wussie

When I was practicing in Florida, I knew of several judges who were armed. Heck, one of them used to take us (me, a prosecutor, and my colleague, a public defender) to the range on a regular basis.

i'm of two minds. on the one hand, the judge was not being attacked, and the attacker was (i should think, quite clearly) unarmed, so part of me wants to say it was a matter for the bailiffs and the judge should have kept his calm. on the other, it was a *brawl in his courtroom*, and to no small extent, keeping the peace before the bench is a judge's responsibility, i believe.

i'm not sure lethal force was warranted in the situation, but i'm pretty sure *something* was. whether the lawyer's reaction is reasonable would depend on just how far unwarranted it was for the judge to draw down, i'd say.

I can understand the judge's decision. We have the advantage of hindsight. We know that the victim's father just plowed into the perp with a few well-deserved fists. But if you are sitting there on the bench and see someone coming over the rail, you don't have time to wonder. It is either draw right-the-hell now, or not draw. Anybody loony enough, or impulsive enough, to leap over the rail in an obviously aggressive manner might have deadly intent as well. You don't have time to think of it. This judge is a mensch of the first order.

The defense attorney, on the other hand, is a weenie of the worst sort. I hope he is kidded by his fellow attorneys every time he shows his face for the next year. "Hey Smith, Bang-bang, ha ha ha!"

I am of a completely different opinion. This judge is no mensch. Not by long shot, pun intended.

He has no damn business arming himself in a venue under his control where others, who are no less citizens than he, who are endowed with every right he has which are guaranteed by our constitution, are disallowed those rights under penalty of law. Illegal law.

He is a coward. Only cowards or criminals desire others be helpless in their presence. Period.