I've seen the man around town. He is old, extremely feeble, and deaf. In dealing with him I discovered that he couldn't hear me when I tried to tell him I had resolved the situation by complying with The State's demands. He reminded me of nothing so much as a zombie.
I mean, he seriously had no clue I was even speaking and I was maybe, at most, 3 feet from his ears.
In my case The State was "only" stealing my money (since I complied), but what about instances where the stakes are higher? A zombie who is more dead than alive has no business making decisions that affect the lives of others; not for The State and not even under private, consensual arbitration. Although, I suppose under arbitration you could get away with screaming "Listen to me while I try to tell you something relevant, you zombie!"
I know someone who was on a jury in this guy's municipal court a few months ago. She said the judge kept dozing off during the trial. Not the behavior of a responsible person at all!
He may have been a decent guy once, even though I disagree completely with the coercive nature of his employment, but it is way past time for him to do the responsible thing and retire. Some might say it isn't all his fault. I'm supposing he is an elected judge, after all- which goes to show how irresponsible voters are. As if you didn't already know.
