Goodbye to a legend.

I've been reading opinions of federal court cases since I was in high school. One name that has kept coming up again and again was that of William Wayne Justice.

Mostly I've been aware of Judge Justice's work as a federal district judge in Tyler, TX. Before that, he was an east Texas federal prosecutor.

Many have hated Justice's rulings, which have led to desegregation across Texas, education for the children of even undocumented immigrants, and strict regulations for Texas jails and prisons.

But there's another side to those rulings, based in the strict interpretation of the law. I've heard many a jailer complain about the dictates pursuant to Ruiz v. Estelle, but I've never had it explained to me how the ruling was illegal or improper. [I know; I'm just a big stinkin' liberal. I think that even inmates (some of which are unconvicted) are allowed basic medical care, access to law libraries, and oversight of their holding facilities.]

He's passed on, still a senior federal district justice at 89 years of age.

So passes one of the great pillars of US and Texas criminal justice.