The Verdict Is In on Judge Wapner

Boo to the critics of Judge Joseph A. Wapner!

Each would apparently deny this fine judge the pleasure and challenges of continuing the practice of law in the “real world” because he is now a television celebrity. One critic reveals his contempt for individuals who watch ‘People’s Court’ by informing us that the judge’s dual persona “. . . leads to confusion and disorientation among viewers.” Hah! What snobbish hogwash.

Would these same critics wish to deprive the likes of Arthur Miller from teaching law to his students at Harvard because he, too, appears regularly on television educating the general public on the function of law in a republican form of government?

Why should a jurist with insight and wisdom, gained over a period of 20 years on the Superior Court bench, be confined to some TV critic’s vague notion of what is acceptable employment?

I applaud Joseph Wapner and those who have voluntarily submitted their disagreement to him for resolution. In this age of exploding civil litigation and the increasingly slow administration of justice in our courts, Judge Wapner represents a fine choice to arbitrate most any dispute.

BRIAN PETRABORG, Attorney

Whittier