Get Out The Tissues: A Judge Painfully Recognizes Her Old Friend In Court

by N/A, 8 years ago | 2 min read

When this man appeared before a judge in bond court, he crossed paths with an old friend.

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After being arrested for a robbery that preceded a car chase, Arthur Booth appeared before Judge Mindy Glazer.

This took place in Miami-Dade Bond Court.

Court business proceeded as usual, until Judge Glazer asked Booth this question: "Did you go to Nautilus for middle school?"

Realizing that he knew Judge Glazer from his childhood, Booth exclaimed a joyous "Oh my goodness!" A smile slowly crept across Judge Glazer's face at the same time, and the two surely relived a few memories they experienced together in youth.

But then Booth's joyous expression changed to despair when Glazer said "I always wondered what happened to you, sir." The two used to play football together in middle school.

It's like all at once Booth's bad decisions (or bad luck, depending on your perspective) in life came crashing down on him. Fewer than 40 years ago, the two had played football together–just two kids with blank slates who could've gone anywhere. But here they were in court, representative of two completely different life paths. One, a criminal, the other, an arbiter of justice.

Judge Glazer went on, "This was the nicest kid in middle school, he was the best kid in middle school."

This comment is so tragic. How could his life have become this?

It makes you wonder–how could two kids have started out so similar but become so vastly different a few decades down the line?

How do factors of privilege, race and class play out in a scenario like this? It certainly brings to mind a lot of relevant questions about society. It's like a modern Shakespearian tragedy.

There's clearly still some sort of leftover bond between the two–it's almost like she doesn't quite want to say goodbye to him.

And she was quite a standup judge. She wasn't mean or particularly harsh. She acknowledged the fact that sometimes one's life circumstances get out of one's control. Of course, she still had to follow the law (setting his bail at $43,000), but she was clearly more interested in Booth's rehabilitation than she was in punishing him, which is how all judges should be.

Before Judge Glazer dismissed him from court, she sent Booth off by saying "Good luck to you, sir, I hope you are able to come out of this okay and just lead a lawful life."

What a tragic–but strangely uplifting–reunion. There's hope for this man. View the full video here.