Judicial discipline.

Being one of the several lawyers in this state who actually reads the News, I came across a August 1 article about Judge Gregory Holder of Tampa who was reprimanded by the Supreme Court for actually trying to help somebody who, without question, deserved assistance.

The way I get it from the article is that this judge presided over a case involving a decorated combat veteran who got kicked out of the University of South Florida based on the allegations comprising the case before the court. So the judge contacts the university and asks, nicely, if they would allow the defendant back into school for online classes. The judge also called the state attorney to get them to back off what might've been the problem count(s).

Of course, the judge, who is not, by any stretch of the imagination, asking for the world here, is reprimanded because he created the impression that he wasn't impartial and violated some other rules that reflect on the neutrality of the bench and whatever else they put in there that prompted the JQC and ultimately the Supreme Court to say "Oh. You can't do that. You violated THE RULES."

So I'm reading this and I'm thinking, "You know. I get it. I now completely understand why people hate lawyers." I'm not a Bible scholar, but I remember the bit where Jesus is excoriating the Pharisees (and the lawyers, I might add) because they concentrate all their attention on the rules. They have the law down cold, but they forgot what the law represents.

So here's Judge Holder. I don't know this judge, but he sounds like someone I'd like to know. He probably saw this...