THE ROBING ROOM

I had a case before Judge Kelleher in the mid-70s. He continued the trial, sua sponte, twice -- itself a very unusual occurrence. The second continuance took place the day before trial was to begin, and the ostensible reason was that the judge was too sick to preside. In fact, the reason for the continuance was to allow him to attend a tennis tournament. He was outed when he stopped an attempted purse-snatching at the event, which made the news. The judge had to be aware that parties and witnesses had flown in from out of state for the trial, at significant expense, but took the week off anyway. It sounds from the tenor of the other -- more recent --comments, that he hasn't changed for the better.