Udell on the Bench

This morning was prelims and a reduced-to-a-misdemeanor plea and sentence, and my first appearance in front of my former chief deputy, the (now) Honorable Udell. He carried the cowboy way up to the bench, was pretty fair to all concerned, and turned out to be a judge of few words (which is much better than the alternative, believe me). I think I saw a glint of glee, though, when The Honorable bound over a case defended by his old tormentor, my predecessor Larry David of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

I think the judge and I will reach a fairly workable modus vivendi: he doesn't comment on my gentleman-of-leisure approach to courtroom punctuality, and I don't mention the times I've seen him do the "wax on, wax off" routine from The Karate Kid.