The Law as enabler
Enabler of the Month:
The Law, which offers only limited choices for the California State Commission on Judicial Performance in meting out consequences for errant Officers of the Court. The commission decided that Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Schwartz can continue to preside over criminal hearings even though he was arrested for driving under the influence with a Blood Alcohol Level of .18 per cent and repeatedly tried to get preferential treatment and avoid being arrested because he was a judge. The Commission censured Schwartz, which is reportedly the most serious punishment short of being removed from the bench. Perhaps, a compromise in the law is in order: a judge can return after a year (or two, after his brain heals from what should be automatically assumed to be longstanding alcoholism) with random and regular testing, with one failure resulting in automatic removal.