Lower-Court Arrogance Kept in Check

With respect to Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald’s comment on the appeals court reversal of the murder conviction and 45-year sentence out of his court, about which he is quoted as saying, “I did notice there was a dissenting opinion from one intelligent human being” (Orange County Newswatch, Aug. 3):

We are reminded that we live in a society of laws, not of men. It is the cold, objective precision of the rule of law that would preclude a decision based not upon justice, but upon emotion. In this case, there was a desire to hold the car thief responsible for the deaths of his pursuers, and in a sense he was responsible. But he was not guilty of murder.

Justices are appointed to higher courts because they have the wisdom to rise above emotion and apply the rule of law in both tough cases, such as this, and in all others uniformly. We may feel fortunate that we have such a system to protect us from the arrogant and arbitrary mediocrity of a Judge Fitzgerald.

J.B. JOHNSON, Santa Ana