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It was some idle Tuesday afternoon around 4:00 p.m. when I ran across my friend, Judge Jordan, who was a judge for the Cook County, Illinois, Circuit Court. Judge Jordan and I talked briefly about programming smartphones and the previous weekend. He soon made his apologies and started to leave, explaining that he needed to get lunch and that he had a tough day ahead of him with all the work he needed to do before he went home for the day. I gave my usual courtesies to allow him to go on his way, but, secretly, I wondered what work he had left to do that needed to be done that night. I wish I could say that this occurred early in my career, but I can't. I was close to my 20th year as a lawyer.
That confession is hard to make now. After several years as a chief administrative law judge, I realize that Judge Jordan's workload as a state trial judge, with his seniority, work ethic, and skill, must have been tremendous. Even now, that realization is...