http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/ Calfornia Associate Justice William W. Bedsworth A Criminal Waste of Space monthly column irreverant look at legal matters http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=87 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:52:06 PST I think I may have underestimated the Pepsi Cola people. This would, after all, be an easy thing to do. About all we see of Pepsi is that red-white-and-blue beachball logo, and it's hard to take them seriously as an evil empire when all they seem to want us to do is join the Pepsi generation and... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=85 Wed, 13 May 2009 10:08:25 PST I have gone gently into the good night of geezerhood. I'm not sure exactly when it happened. At some point, apparently while my attention was diverted, I went from being "The Kid"1 to being "Acting PJ." That's like going to bed Warren Zevon and waking up The Werewolf of L... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=84 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:37:27 PST I was a trial judge for ten years without ever being assigned to Family Law. Turns out all you have to do is deny a coupla divorces and the Presiding Judge decides you're not cut out for that assignment.  Go figure.  Seemed to me you shouldn't need a judge to grant divorces if... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=83 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:19:20 PST The National Judicial College is located in Reno, Nevada.  I don't know why.  I always assumed that's where the founders' wagon train ran out of food and water.Whatever the reason for the location, it's problematic.  Say what you will about Reno, it is geographically u... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=82 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:52:38 PST My first year criminal law professor spent a great deal of time - an inordinate amount of time, I thought then - on the philosophy of punishment.  I was a lot more confident at twenty than I am now of my ability to recognize a waste of time, and the weeks we spent debating the efficacy vel non ... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=81 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:05:46 PST G. K. Chesterton said, "When you break the big laws, you do not get liberty.  You do not even get anarchy.  You get small laws."  And when you break the small laws, some poor judge gets another ulcer.Before Pete Wilson went walkabout and gave me the absolute best job in the ... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=80 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:15:51 PST It occurred to me today that it's a long, long time from May to December, but the days grow short when you reach September.1 Which means that by November, the days have grown short enough that Grumpy and Sneezy could drive the lane on them. The race to get home before sunset has once again becom... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=79 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:35:19 PST When novelist Kurt Vonnegut died last year, Sports Illustrated ran an obituary. This was unusual. SI has a section in which they typically run short obituaries of sports figures, but Kurt Vonnegut was not, at least at first glance, a sports figure. It got my attention. Turns out Sports Illustrated w... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=77 Tue, 20 May 2008 18:34:09 PST I try really hard not to throw rocks at legislators.  For one thing, they have a very tough job, a very boring job, a job most of us wouldn't take unless they'd stopped hiring at the steel mill.  For another thing, if you throw a rock at a legislator, you're gonna hit him; they... http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.net/journal_beds.asp?blogid=76 Fri, 02 May 2008 17:12:42 PST My wife and I work together. This means I get to spend pretty much every minute of my life with her. This sometimes gets in the way because, of course, it means I have to spend so much time giving thanks to a higher power for my incredible good fortune. Other than that, it is the unalloyed blessing ...