The Littlest God

The California Supreme Court receives a petition for review from a person declared a frivolous appellant. When the judges review the file, they fail to find any briefs. The missing briefs indicate that an appeal had not taken place. When they reviewed the file further, they discovered that the court of appeal, from which the case had originated, claimed to have taken the appeal in 87 days, which is physically impossible. Chief Justice Talcolm Powder is convinced it is just a clerical error. He argues the case be returned to the appellate court where it emanated.

However, after returning the case to the court of appeal, Justice Powder orders his clerk to bring him all the cases the California Supreme Court reviewed over the previous 6 months from the appellate court in question. He found an excessive number of petitions for review from that court and appealed to the California Supreme Court. The outrageous decisions the California Supreme Court received from the appellate court where the frivolous appellant originated raise eyebrows. To make matters worse, the Chief Justice realizes that the California Supreme Court upheld some of the outrageous decisions. Suddenly, Justice Powder comes to terms with a corrupt court on his hands. After further reviewing the files, he determines that Judge Reuben Ortotozo is the ringleader, as he is listed on every decision as one of the three judges. Now he must decide how to handle the problem.

After thinking the situation over, he understands he can’t turn him in since, after all, Reuben is a judge, and one of them; Justice Powder must protect his kind. Besides, after careful consideration, Justice Powder remembered that the California Supreme Court had reviewed the cases, and he would draw attention to the California Supreme Court for not having turned him in sooner. The only alternative he can think of is to plant the name of Reuben Ortotzo in the mind of the governor as quickly as possible, then force one of the current members off to create a vacancy. His motive is to get Ortotzo on the court where he can watch him. He hopes to curtail Reuben’s corrupt ways, now an obsession—his two closest allies on the court, the two oldest members, and both alcoholics.

Justice Powder’s plan works to perfection, but in the process, members of the state senate judiciary committee discover Ortotzo’s corruption. They confirm him, so they won’t make the governor look bad with his nomination. Besides, they know they don’t need a scandal involving the state’s highest court. The motivation? They fear it might undermine public confidence in the judicial system. Once Reuben is seated on the court, it becomes evident to the others of the California Supreme Court that he is still doing business with his former colleagues at the appellate level. He now uses his place on the court to argue why their decisions should be upheld using esoteric logic that escapes everyone. He now has a dual profession: judge and lobbyist. He also becomes a pain in everyone’s butt with his conduct. Oh, what to do about this man? When one of the alcoholic jurists mutters, “Oh, I wish that man were dead,” she sparks an idea. The death sentence for Reuben Ortotzo was convicted of corruption and sentenced under special circumstances in absentia.

Because no public charges were brought against Justice Ortotzo, the court is forced to turn to the private sector. A hit contract is taken out, and the court’s problems with Reuben get worse as the assassin fails on repeated attempts. In the end, six jurists are arrested for the attempted murder of Reuben. The irony is that Reuben will still be on the court to hear their appeals.

The story also examines the baggage judges bring to the court.