Judge of the Day: Bill Mathesius
There aren’t many two-time winners of ATL’s Judge of the Day award. The members of that distinguished group are true pieces of work — jurists like Judge James M. Brooks and Judge Elizabeth Halverson.
But we think that Judge Wilbur Mathesius, of Mercer County, New Jersey, richly deserves membership in the club. If you question this conclusion, just click here, to read what one tipster described as “a judicial hissy fit, with great footnotes.”
Some background. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently disciplined Judge Mathesius, suspending him from the bench for 30 days, and directing him to “reflect on his position of authority and the manner in which he exercises that position of authority.” So Judge Mathesius did just that:
I removed to a remote and undisclosed location to encourage contemplation and reflection. To provide further catalyst to my reflective capacities, I subsisted on a Zen macrobiotic vegetarian diet, an occasional leaf or two of organic radicchio and Evian water, foraging as best I could for native fruits and nuts. The occasional tuna sushi was like gold. I report herewith the product of that reflection…
That’s just the beginning. Check out the whole thing by clicking here.
In the words of a second source: “Shhhh, listen, that’s the sound of his judicial career going down the toilet.”
The Full Mathesius [New Jersey Lawyer]
Judge’s critique pounds system [Trenton Times]
Judge’s Words Cost Him A Suspension Of 30 Days [New York Times (TimesSelect)]
Earlier: Judges of the Day: Wilbur Mathesius and James Brooks
(27) Comments
Comments
first!!
White Girls With Asian Guys
What a tool. If you can't respect judicial hierarchy, don't put on the robe: run for the state legislature, where I'm sure this kind of small-market self-righteousness and -aggrandizement will go over like gangbusters.
Too bad that almost nobody will read that. It was quite good.
4:49 and 5:01--you both are so wrong. Mathesius is hilarious.
I would love to get a copy of the license that Judges get issued when sworn to the bench, thereafter allowing them to become self-righteous dicks.
I have to admit I found it a bit amusing when he described NJ Supreme Court Justice Deborah T. Poritz as "mature Andrea Dworkin with a touch of Dick Cheney."
The Judge gets props. Career suicide for sure -- a flameout of memorable proportions.
Quoting Ol' Dirty Bastard Proteck Ya Neck II the Zoo as the closing stanza is priceless.
Even better than Ol Dirty Bastard, he quoted Caddy Shack (I skipped to the end)
"So," as Carl Spackler noted following his Enlightenment, "I got that goin' for me, which is nice."
I thought it was pretty funny.
Magnificent. This opinion is brilliant.
although it is funny and clever at times this reminds me of the ramblings of a pro se litigant with a persecution complex.
let it go Judge, you'll be much happier
um, that was amazing.
fn 73 made me laugh out loud.
i'm crushing on this guy right now
Tremendous. Truth to power! Too bad this guy is going to be railroaded out of the judiciary.
If you gotta go, you might as well go with a bang.
Fucking hilarious. He is obviously tired of being pushed around by the pompous NJ judicial hierarchy & decided to flame out.
(And yeah, Poritz does kind of look like a Dworkin/Cheney clone.)
This judge is probably both totally deserving of the suspension he received and correct about judicial censoring. What we have here is the classic case of Bigger Dicks vs. dick-- they all have their points, but in the end, they're all just pains in the ass (sexual puns INTENDED).
This is amazing. A quite rare look into the inner thoughts of a maniac.
WHAT IS UP WITH THAT "UP" HAIR?
I've seen that hair on Babylon 5.
I feel sorry for anyone who ever clerked for this loser.
Time to edit your resumes.
Cute, but did he *actually* compare himself with Posner?
judge, adjudicate thyself.
This Judge is sort of funny, in a: "Look - that guy peed himself" kind of way.
But more than anything else, his rant is just pathetic and sad.
I hope I never fall so in love with myself that I decide to indulge every little whim that enters my mind.
Bring back Elizabeth Halverson!!!
I know she is up to things, BIG things.
Some would even say that she is living large....
hey 10:39 PM; watch out, Halverson has been endorsed by LEAN:
http://www.halverson4judge.com/endorsments/
I thought his diatribe was hilarious and I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle. I'm sure the NJSC is loaded with a bunch of selfrighteous pricks and I'm sure that Judge Bill is a pompus ass.
What's that saying? "Power corrupts and absolute power... makes you a total asshole?"