I recently attended the swearing-in of Lora Greene as the new probate judge of Montmorency County.

It was held in the Atlanta High School gym and was as fine a swearing-in for a new judge as I have ever seen — except for my own.

COVID-19 regulations limited the Montmorency County Courthouse’s capacity, so they moved the event over to the high school. It’s a good thing they did, for well-wishers nearly filled its gym’s bleachers.

Friends and relatives, members of the public, former colleagues and employees, court staff, and attorneys from the surrounding area — all were in attendance. I was among a group of retired and presently serving judges.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Lora to this position, an appointment necessitated by Judge Benjamin Bolser’s retirement. But, before she could assume the duties of that office, Lora had to take an oath. Witnessing this qualifying event was the reason we had gathered.

Came the time and Lora solemnly swore her oath of office; those gathered saw that she did. Now, it’s up to the people of Montmorency County to hold her to it.

After Lora swore her oath, those gathered made glowing comments. Even the attorneys had nice things to say, and no judge had to rule on an objection. These were accolades Lora had earned; she brings years of relevant experience to this critical position. Experiences she will use — not as stepping stones to some other position — but as tools to better serve the people of Montmorency County for years to come.

There was one speaker of whom I took special note. She is not an attorney or judge, nor was she a former colleague or employee, but someone who knows Lora well. Unfortunately, I’m hard of hearing, so I missed her name and much of what she said, but I heard these words that she repeated:

” Lora is real,” the lady said. “She’s real.”

I recently completed a book by columnist Ruth Marus entitled “Supreme Ambition”. It’s about the selection and appointment of Brett Kavanaugh as a U.S. Supreme Court justice.

His selection followed a different process than that of Lora and employed other criteria. As a result, he received accolades from a separate quarter — none of which emanated from high school bleachers.

Lora will deal with real people and their problems, seeking to afford them the assistance they need, acknowledging they are not manifestations of someone’s preconceived notion of what real people should do or be.

Brett Kavanaugh was selected to promote the interests of those who would prescribe solutions to problems based on preconceived notions of what real people should be and do.

Lora Greene prepared for her judgeship by attending a public grade school and a public high school. In addition, she received her undergraduate degree from a public college — attended law school at a public university.

Brett Kavanaugh’s preparation followed a different course. He attended a private grade school and private high school before attending a private college and law school. He went on to work in government then as an appellate court judge.

His education and work experience was far different from Lora’s, but markedly similar to the other Supreme Court justices.

And he will join a majority of those justices in applying a rule of constitutional construction. One that seeks to determine the meaning of the Founders’ words at the time they uttered them then apply that conjecture to a contemporary problem those Founders never faced.

It’s called “Originalism,” a contrived test.

Better, it seems to me, to fashion a rule that determines a word’s meaning in a contemporary context then applies that meaning to existing problems of real people.

Could it be that “Originalism” was developed to avoid such real interpretations? I suspect it was.

Perhaps I’m unfair. Brett Kavanaugh and his fellow justices are intelligent people who have worked hard — in many ways — to get where they are; they do important, necessary work.

I just hope they’ll be joined someday by real people.

Doug Pugh’s “Vignettes” runs weekly on Saturdays. He can be reached at pughda@gmail.com.