Judge seems quieter on return

Lamdin was suspended for remarks from bench

1st day back is smooth

"Comprende gulag ? You understand what gulag means?" the judge responded, referring to the former Soviet Union's penal system of forced labor camps. The man chuckled. Lamdin postponed the case so the man could talk to the public defender's office. The judge also ordered a Russian interpreter for the next hearing - although he said the man might need to pay for those services.

Rodney Hill, the prosecutor assigned to handle the docket in Lamdin's courtroom yesterday, said the judge has always been a forthright person.

"I think he's still that same person," he said. "He brings a certain realism to the bench. You're not going to come in here and BS the man. You can tell he's been around."

Richard K. Scott, who had a case before Lamdin yesterday, said the judge seemed more patient but still committed to helping defendants address the circumstances of their lives that landed them in court.

"He knows how to talk to people in a way that gets their attention and makes them listen," the defense attorney said. "I know a lot of people don't see it that way, but sometimes people need a whack in the head to come to their senses. He only does it because he cares."

[e-mail]