Did I meet Diogenes?

Actually, I've got my title wrong. I should have said, "Did I meet an honest man?" (You know the story about Diogenes, right?)

I suppose "honest and bold" would be even better, but I don't know about the bold part yet. I've got a call in to this individual to see if I can mention them by name here. As they work with judges, THAT would be very bold. It might cost them their job. On the other hand, this kind of boldness could propel them into the public spotlight, and get them a job. Namely their boss's elected office. (Cryptic, I know, but necessary for now.)

An interesting story from September 2008, when I was beginning to think about filing a complaint of judicial misconduct against Judge Hinson but did yet have the hard data to do it.

I was sitting in the gallery watching Judge Bluff's first ever jury trial. Apparently that made a lot of people nervous. (Not his first ever trial. My sitting in the gallery.)

It's a sad comment that simply sitting in the gallery watching a trial when you're not a party is so unusual that people get antsy. If more citizens did it, we'd have better accountability. Hey, you retired people, how about being our eyes and ears, reporting what happens in courtrooms around the State? You can do it for free, the seats are reasonably comfortable and the room is air conditioned. Sometimes better than a TV soap opera!

Someone from a nearby office came in and sat next to me. What are the odds of that in a large gallery with only one person in it!

They started up a conversation with me and introduced themselves. As their job interfaces with judges, I asked what they would do if they knew a judge was consistently violating the Constitution? I was surprised when they thought about it and said, "Well, I suppose I would have to file a complaint of judicial misconduct."

I was also surprised when this person said they had read the Breyer Report. I was so shocked anyone would know about that, I couldn't think of any questions to verify we were talking about the same thing. But if they know about complaints of judicial misconduct, I suppose they would also know about the Breyer Report.

Of course, it's one thing to say you would file a complaint of judicial misconduct. It's quite another thing to do it, especially if you have to work with judges as part of your job.

Nevertheless, it's the right thing to do. We call it "walking the talk." Some calling Choosing The Right. If more people did it, maybe we'd have better accountability in the judiciary? Especially if people who were in positions of authority did it. That would truly make them outstanding.