Judge (2000 AD)

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Not to be confused with the real-world office of judge.
Judge Rico, a street judge, painted by Carlos Ezquerra
Judge Rico, a street judge, painted by Carlos Ezquerra

Judge (or street judge) is a title held by several significant characters in the Judge Dredd series, which appears in the British comic 2000 AD. In the fictional future history of the series, the role of "Judge" combines those of judge and police officer, thus avoiding long legal wrangles by allowing for criminals to be tried and sentenced on the spot. Since they overthrew the US Constitution in 2070 they have also held supreme political power.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Judges are the product of many years' training and psychological conditioning. Training, which takes place in the Academy of Law, generally begins at age five.[1] The Judges recruit promising children, and grow their own clones. Judge Dredd is himself one of the clones of the Judges' founder, Chief Judge Fargo.[2]

The Judges themselves are not above the law – a violation that would earn a citizen a few months in an Iso-Cube would get a Judge a twenty-year sentence, to be served as hard labor on Saturn's moon, Titan, after surgical modification to enable the convict to survive in Titan's atmosphere without needing an expensive space suit.[3]

The Judges are led by a Chief Judge and a Council of Five.[4] The Judges have their own domestic intelligence division (the Public Surveillance Unit),[5] and their own medical facilities. There are a number of specialist divisions within the Judges, notably Psi Division, which consists of psychic judges used to predict the future and read minds, and Tek Division, made up of forensic scientists and engineers. The SJS (Special Judicial Squad) monitor and police the Judges internally.[6]

In the Judge Dredd future history, the Judge System originated in the United States (see History of Mega-City One), but spread to other countries around the world. In most of these nations the Judges are not only responsible for law enforcement but also control all aspects of the government. Of course, not all of these different Justice Departments are identical to the Mega-City One Judges. The Judges of Ireland, for example, are not only allowed to drink and smoke, they are also allowed to get married,[7] whereas MC-1 Judges are prohibited from having love lives and have virtually no private lives of their own.[8] Corruption is endemic amongst the Judges of Brit-Cit, and bribery is often essential to progress through the ranks of what is, compared to Mega-City's Judge system, little more than an authorized militia- or protection racket.[9]

Judges in Mega-City One also hear civil cases in block courts. These are courts in each City Block, where judges are assigned to try civil cases, such as compensation claims, libel, slander, divorce, alimony and small claims matters.[10]

Notable Judges appearing in the series include Judge Anderson (of Psi Division), Judge Hershey, Judge Kraken, Judge Giant and the eponymous Judge Dredd.

[edit] Training

A rookie judge (illustrated by Will Simpson)
A rookie judge (illustrated by Will Simpson)

Before becoming fully fledged street judges, cadet judges usually must serve 15 years (or, exceptionally, 13 years for fast-tracked cadets)[11] at the Academy of Law where they will receive the intensive training and conditioning that will enable them to enforce law and order in the chaotic and confusing place that is twenty second century Mega-City One.

A cadet is inducted into the Academy either as a cloned infant (as was the case with Judge Dredd),[12] or as a child aged five (although in exceptional cases older children have been recruited). After this the Academy is the recruit's entire world; unsupervised contact with the city outside is forbidden under any circumstances in order to maintain the strictest discipline and mental conditioning.[13]

On graduating from the Academy, cadets become known as rookie judges, and wear a uniform similar to that of full judges, except that they wear white helmets instead of black and red ones, and their badges consist of only one half of a full judge's badge and do not have their names on them[14] (see illustration, right). (Note however that some artists have wrongly depicted cadets in rookies' uniforms, and rookies in full judges' uniforms.)

Before becoming a full judge, a rookie must undergo assessment by a more experienced Senior Judge in order to gauge their suitability and competence. The failure rate is extremely high, with no second chances allowed. The few who pass their Final Assessment exchange their white helmet and "half-eagle" for the black helmet and "full eagle" at a brief ceremony before the chief judge.[15]

Notable characters who have been seen taking their final assessments are the original Judge Giant, the other Judge Giant, Judge Rico, Judge Kraken, and Dredd himself (in flashbacks).

[edit] History

The Judge System was created by Eustace Fargo, special government prosecutor for street crime, between 2027 and 2031, to combat a rising tide of violent crime and to speed up the process of justice. While there was heavy protest in Congress over the idea of abandoning due process, the electorate was in favour and President Gurney (who supported Fargo's plan) was re-elected with a massive majority.[16] The original uniforms heavily resembled that of normal American police officers, albeit with helmets and heavy body armour, and drove Lawranger motorcycles.

Following the Third World War of 2070 the Judges overthrew the Government of the United States and seized power, with popular support, and the chief judge became the country's ruler. The Judicial model (which can be broadly defined as a form of krytocracy) has subsequently spread throughout the globe becoming the most common form of government on Earth by the 22nd century.[17]

[edit] Foreign variations ("World Judges")

Every Mega-City seen is policed and run (either completely or partially) by a Judge system, which more or less resembles that of Mega-City One. Variations exist on the uniforms and overall system of government:

  • Some Judge systems, such as the Irish (Murphyville) and Australian (Sydney-Melbourne Conurb) ones, have far more lenient and relaxed laws and codes of practise for Judges. Conversely, Russia's East-Meg Two has a far more militarised and oppressive law, while Japan's Hondo City has a more disciplined and stoic culture among the Judges.
  • Several systems are openly corrupt and serving the ruling figures - Ciudad Barranquilla is traditionally the main example, and criminal gangs had formed their own Judge force in Las Vegas. (An extremely high number of foreign Judge systems have been revealed to be corrupt in spin-off strips - Armitage reveals Brit-Cit justice to be corrupt and run by former ganglords, Shimura has Hondo justice infiltrated by the yakuza, Breathing Space has corrupt Luna-1 Judges...)
  • The remit of the Judges may be different - the Pan-African Judges are an inter-continental peacekeeping force.
  • Control may not rest solely with the Judges, or at all: Japan still retains the Shogun as constitutional monarch, the Vatican's Judges (and the city itself) are still answerable to the Pope and senior priests, and Scotland's Cal-Hab Judges are a subordinate branch of Brit-City.
  • Lunar colony Luna-1 traditionally gained many of its Judges from foreign Mega-Cities, and until 2099 the position of Judge Marshal was replaced every six months and held by a senior Earth Judge. It finally gained a mostly domestic Judge system solely because, following cataclysms like Judgement Day, the Earth cities could not afford to send off any Judges.

The foreign Judge stories and spin-off strips have been criticised for relying too much on foreign stereotypes and cliches - Egypt's Judges are based on Ancient Egyptian, the South American Judges are corrupt and incompetent and speak in exaggerated accents, Japanese Judges are samurai figures etc.

[edit] Dark Judges

The Dark Judges are undead creatures from an alternative reality ("Deadworld").

Because all crime is committed by the living, the Dark Judges have concluded that life is a crime and the punishment they have decreed is death. They travel through different realities delivering their justice. As they do not live and cannot die, they therefore are not guilty. Their leader, Judge Death, is Judge Dredd's arch-enemy.

Before its extermination, Deadworld was ruled over by a murderous and corrupt Judge force; their uniforms were a grey, black and dark-red variation of Mega-City One's, with pterodactyls in place of eagles as decoration. There does not appear to have been an Atomic War in this world, as the cities shown resembled run-down 20th Century cities rather than the Mega-Cities. The Dark Judges took control of this Judge force and used it to assist them in their global genocide before disposing of it. [18]

[edit] Judges

[edit] Chief Judges

Judge Dredd and Chief Judge Volt (painted by Carlos Ezquerra)
Judge Dredd and Chief Judge Volt (painted by Carlos Ezquerra)
  1. Judge Fargo
  2. Judge Solomon
  3. Judge Goodman
  4. Judge Cal
  5. Judge Griffin
  6. Judge McGruder
  7. Judge Silver
  8. Judge McGruder (again)
  9. Judge Volt
  10. Judge Hershey

[edit] Other notable judges

[edit] Dark Judges

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ 2000 AD prog 522
  2. ^ 2000 AD prog 552
  3. ^ 2000 AD prog 30
  4. ^ 2000 AD prog 86
  5. ^ 2000 AD prog 959
  6. ^ 2000 AD prog 86
  7. ^ 2000 AD progs 727-732
  8. ^ 2000 AD progs 461-463, 755
  9. ^ "Judge Dredd: Deathmasques," Dave Stone, 1993. ISBN 0352328738
  10. ^ 2000 AD prog 1284
  11. ^ 2000 AD prog 750
  12. ^ 2000 AD prog 552
  13. ^ 2000 AD prog 121
  14. ^ 2000 AD prog 27
  15. ^ 2000 AD prog 27
  16. ^ 2000 AD prog 1510
  17. ^ 2000 AD prog 68
  18. ^ Judge Dredd: Dead Reckoning, 2000AD progs 1000-6
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