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TCinLA's avatar

I've known three judges, all through flying. The one who was the most fun to be around was absolutely crazy, the second was a lot of fun in a cockpit and nobody I'd want to deal with in court. The third was Charles Older, first ace of the Flying Tigers, top American ace of the China-Burma-India theater (21 victories), who was appointed to the LA Superior Court by his friend Ronald Reagan and whose first trial was the Manson Murders. "I've never lost a moment's sleep sentencing all of them to death." (Interestingly, it was the 30th anniversary of the day he became an ace over Rangoon on December 23, 1941, the day a British correspondent wrote a report about "The Flying Tigers" and they were named) A man NOBODY crossed. If you were supposed to arrive at his house at 2:45, you set your watch by the Official Time before leaving home, arrived no later than 2:35 if not five minutes earlier, sat in your car till 2:43, went to his front porch, consulted your watch and rang, once, at 2:45. He answered within 30 seconds. One of the most interesting people I ever met, a guy his other fellow Flying Tigers were *still* in awe of 70 years later. Yeah, judges vary. I would never have wanted to be stupid enough to end up in the dock in his court.

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