Northampton County's Judges Hold Us In Contempt

Attytood tells us the Supreme Court's Antonin Scalia is complaining about the press and their complete inability to understand the important work done by our judges. Scalia is especially upset now that the Internet and blogosphere are in on the action. "This is not just like somebody handing out a leaflet in the past, where a small number of people can see this," he said. "This is available to the world. ... It changes what it means to be a judge. It certainly changes the attractiveness of a judicial career."

Well, Scalia would love Northampton County. Let me tell you about our judges. They have their own little private entrance and exit at the new courthouse expansion so they don't have to mingle with the dangerous public. Unlike the rest of us, their little door is located very close to their reserved parking places. They have their very own floor at the new courthouse expansion, and most of them even have private judicial potties. No one is authorized access to the judges' private floor. That's their turf, baby. And if a fire or other problem breaks out, I've been told sheriffs don't even have keys to this inner sanctum. Each has his own butler, called a tipstaff, who clears the way as judges parade down halls. Two or three deputy sheriffs are assigned to each courtroom. And they have their own little private dining room atop the courthouse rotunda, where they can discuss their trips to Europe. The justification for all of this coddling? Security.

In the process, our judges have become isolated from the very public they are supposed to serve. They've lost touch. The most recent example of this is demonstrated by a judge who recently approached deputies just a few days ago with "security" concerns about a title searcher who frequents the courthouse. This searcher was a recent club fed guest as a result of his anti-war activities. I don't care for this fellow, but he's no security threat. He's a frickin' pacifist. But that scared a judge.

Scalia and our own local judges demonstrate, in attitude and actions, that they have little regard for the First Amendment. And it's time Northampton's judges recognize that the new courthouse belongs to the public, not them.