This judge needs to be on the Supreme Court

US District Court Judge Dee Benson has struck a blow for freedom and fairness: He refused to award left-wing civil rights lawyer Brian Barnard the nearly $70,000 Barnard requested for his successful shakedown of Duchesne City. Benson seems to have reasoned that since Barnard had imposed himself where he wasn't wanted, and didn't live, and forced the city to take down a Ten Commandments display on public land that the local populace supported, it was only fair that he receive 1% of the requested amount.

(For those not familiar with Brian Barnard, imagine that fat, dorky, humorless kid in 5th grade, who was made hall monitor for a day and decided then and there that he liked telling other people what to do so much he made a career out of it.)

Barnard, of course, is howling mad. Never mind the award is significantly higher than the yearly salary of the average Utahn -- Mr. Barnard is smarter and better than everyone else anyway, so he deserves it -- I'm sure he was counting on that money to finance more legal harassment of those icky Christers. Now he has to waste time and money on an appeal, when he could be suing some small town to make sure no one says "God" in public meetings.

I have decided I like Judge Benson. If President Bush needs someone for the Supreme Court, Benson would make a good choice based on this one decision alone.