Judge

[pioneer]

As a judge, I was sentencing criminal defendants when I saw a vaguely familiar face. I reviewed his record and found that the man was a career criminal, except for a five-year period in which there were no convictions. "Milton," I asked, puzzled, "how is it you were able to stay out of trouble for those five years?" "I was in prison," he answered. "You should know that -- you were the one who sent me there." "That's not possible," I said. "I wasn't even a judge then. "No, you weren't the judge," the defendant countered, smiling mischievously. "You were my lawyer." contributed by Philip R. Riley (Reader's Digest)