Law and the Truth: A Judge’s Whine

SOMETIMES it is not easy for a judge to both fulfil the requirements of his job and splash enough ink in the process to launch a debate. Jed Rakoff, a district judge in New York (pictured), managed just that after he was forced by a federal appeals court to rubber-stamp a $285m settlement between Citigroup and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “The court has now fixed the menu, leaving this court with nothing but sour grapes,” writes Mr Rakoff in a ruling published on August 5th. But the mischievous judge then uses the rest of his three-page opinion to attack the higher court’s command for being superficial, unworkable, and irresponsible. It forces, he argues, the judiciary to extend its enforcement powers while at the same time gutting its ability to oversee how they are used. More on The Economist here.