Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for September 08, 2015

The tip jar is empty, so I assume no cases have been assigned to Rat’s docket.

Here’s a tip for you, Rat: Get your own TV show. If “Judge” Judy can do it, anyone can do it.

So true that it’s depressing

Someone made a comment about Judge Roy Bean yesterday and I replied that Rat would probably be like Bean’s Langtry era. Looks like that was close to accurate.

Bean started as a judge in a tent city called Vinegaroon, officially in August 1882 but he actually tried his first case eight days before officially becoming a justice of the peace. That December he moved to Strawbridge, following the railroads west. His courthouse was also his saloon (a tent saloon) which he moved with him when he went to Strawbridge. A rival saloon owner drove him out of business in Strawbridge by spiking his whiskey with kerosene, so he moved to Eagle’s Nest, which was renamed by Bean in honor of Emilie Charlotte Le Breton. Better known by her stage name Lily Langtry (or Lillie Langtry, Lily is the more common spelling of her first name in the US). Langtry didn’t have a jail at that time so Bean settled all cases with a fine. Which he personally pocketed and refused to share with the state government. Sound a little like Rat here?

rat is trying to get his before the lawyers…

Rat is more open about The Legal System than most judges are, but he is not different or unique. Learn and weep, kiddies.

You really think that? I want to see this list of cops that go free after killing INNOCENT people.

Would you be so kind as to name some of those cops? and where these shootings happened?

Leftists don’t need facts.

Wow! Do you people ever stop? Bats makes a comment in keeping with the theme of the comic and three of you jump in to defend the rich and powerful’s security guards. How about we start with the 12 year old with the squirt gun?

Cops don’t have money.

And, the #1 reason our congress became lawyers is to become and stay rich.

I agree with the simulation results that you predict. It has been demonstrated repeatedly. But that also isn’t the point. I would hope that the police training would lead to more protection of the public. Many of these cases—shooting within a second or two, shooting a fleeing suspect in the back several times and trying to cover it up, shooting a suspect with hands up—reflect something that has nothing to do with what you are talking about.

My niece had that judge, she didn’t have $3,000 so she did time.

“You get what you pay for” is why things have been a mess for decades in every form of government, local, state, & federal.

It’s not a “tip jar”, it’s called a “campaign fund”. Get with the program, Rat!

Justice for the rich! Law for the poor! Justice is expensive, we cant afford it.

Many years ago in England a judge was caught taking bribes. He argued that it was no big deal: Since he took bribes from both sides, he could decide the case fairly. It was an interesting argument, but he was hanged anyway.

i didn’t know “pearls” was set in philly. pay to play has been part of the culture here forever. they root it out and it grows back. they squish it down it pops back up. clearly rat is from the city of brotherly shove

Rat could become Chief Judge of the Cook County Court system.

One of the problems with having a closed mind is that nothing can get in. His comment is directly related to today’s theme. That is obvious. Do I really need to explain how? Not all cops are perfect. I had a cop imply that he could shoot me if he wanted to because I was surly while getting a traffic ticket. I could go on and on with facts but it would make no difference to you, so why bother?

Interesting. Don’t quite know how we got to cops shoot innocent people but can we agree that money is the root of all evil? (Which is more in line with what I think Pastis was trying to say.)

Good Career Path choice, Rat! And if you can manage to eventually get appointed to the “Supreme” Court, you can get paid off to make another of the worst decisions in history! Perhaps, this time, Corporations can be equated to entire States, with their own set of Electoral Votes! :-)

@F6F5Hellcat:

Paul Newman did an excellent turn as Judge Roy Bean….“The Law, and Miss Lily!!”

Just as much money as you have.

I’ve been hearing that “You get what you pay for” line for as long as I can remember. It was BS the first time I heard it and it’s still BS. You don’t necessarily always get what you pay for. Fr’iintance, how about buying a car advertised to get 30 miles per gallon but it only delivers 26.

I don’t know to what extent this applies to judges, but…

Q: How many attorneys does it take to change a light bulb?

A: How many can you afford?

With that tip jar, Rat can be a street judge or perhaps be a bar judge when the piano man needs a break.

I wonder if Judge Rat ever met (or will ever meet) the widow of Luke 18:1-5.

Good thing the real judicial system doesn’t work that way-oh wait! It does!

I miss Judge Reinhold.