Judge Hocho

The cornerstone to accurate interpretation of the law; Scotch and cigars.

### Certifications

Airborne, Ranger School, Special Forces Training, AIT (Human Intelligence Collection)

## Other Info

### Degrees

West Point: BA in Criminal Justice (Pre-Law) and minor in Foreign Affairs
University of Virginia, Judge Advocate General School: LL.M.

Harvard Law: JD in dual concentration for both Criminal and Constitutional Law

### Awards

* Distinguished Service Cross
* Defense Distinguished Service Medal
* Silver Star (2 Devices)
* Defense Superior Service Medal
* Legion of Merit
* Soldier's Medal
* Bronze Start (3 Devices)
* Purple Heart (4 Devices)
* Defense Meritorious Service Medal
* Joint Service Commendation Medal
* Army Achievement (2 Devices)
* Vietnam Service
* Southwest Asia Campaign
* Korean Defense
* Republic of Vietnam Campaign
* Presidential Unit Citation
* Joint Meritorious Service
* Meritorious Unit
* Army Superior Unit
* ROK Presidential Unit
* ROV Presidential Unit
* Gallantry medals for Vietnam

## General Information

Judge is relatively tall at 6'3" but reasonably large for someone his age. He eats as well as he can and exercises every moment he is not working but allows himself two vices; single malt scotch and fine cigars.

Judge is not one to live with the concept of regrets, but he often wonders how different his life would have been, had he opted to leave the 10th earlier in his career and saved his marriage.

## Backstory

Judge was born February 21, 1930, to Patricia and John Singleton, the former a homemaker and the latter an enlisted member of a Marine Force Recon unit that was deployed in 1938 to advance covert operations in the South Pacific islands and gain strategic footholds should the US opt to enter the Second World War.  Gunnery Sgt Singleton was killed while rescuing men from both the first and third Marine Divisions, to which he was posthumously awarded the CMH. One of those members was John’s best friend, Masaaki “Mike” Hocho, whose family had migrated to the US in 1883 as part of the Issei, or the first generation of Japanese migrants to the US in San Andreas. “Mike” had joined the Marines rather than work the farm with his family and found his knowledge of the Japanese language and culture worked well for their conflict in years to come.  In 1945, he rotated back to the US and vowed, as he had no family of his own, to help his fallen comrade’s family. A relationship formed, and two years later, he married Patricia and officially adopted Judge.  The only ‘real’ father Judge had ever known (as John Lee left when Judge was only 6 for advanced training and deployment) taught Judge perhaps one of the greatest lessons, how to be still. He also would tell him stories of his biological father, so while Judge may not have known him personally, he would learn from where he came.

Judge applied stillness to all aspects of his life and subsequently excelled in academics and in sports, double lettering in both football and wrestling. Scoring 1650 on his SAT, and as the son of a former KIA and CMH veteran, he was accepted into the United States Military Academy at West Point after graduating high school in 1948. His mentor at the Point, Col. Adamson, suggested a criminal justice path, which enabled him to attain a wide array of post-graduation options. He graduated with honors and a 4. GPA while minoring in foreign affairs, entering service in the US Army as a second lieutenant. He had his choice of multiple postings, though he opted to undertake Ranger training after choosing a prerequisite course in Advanced Individual Training (Human Intelligence Collector).   While in Ranger school, he was offered an opportunity to transition directly into SOF training upon graduation. He married his high school girlfriend, Maria, between Ranger School graduation and inductance into SOF training.

Judge excelled in operations and diplomacy, working directly with Jeju rebels during the Korean War and obtaining much-needed assistance from locals during operations. Judge was promoted to First Lt. and, under the tutelage of Captain Reford, made Deputy Commander of 1st Battalion, Alpha Company. The life of a special operations asset is difficult but perhaps worse for the people left behind. Sadly, Judge and Maria divorced, as the time away, the lack of communication, and secrecy made married life untenable for Maria.   Judge did not hold this against his wife, as he understood the difficulties all too well. Thankfully, they did not have children to complicate the proceedings. Judge found out some years later that she had remarried and had two children and was glad for her; he always felt she deserved better. After being appointed Commander of the same organization and having been promoted to Captain, he was offered the opportunity to become Battalion Commander upon promotion to Major.

His command informed then Captain, Hocho that if he intended to advance, he would need to attain a Master’s degree and subsequently earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the Judge Advocate General School at the University of Virginia with a 4.0 GPA.

Judge progressed, eventually taking command of the 10th Special Forced Group; however, his opportunities to perform field operations began to wane.   When the board approved his promotion to Brigadier General, he was requested to become an ‘advisor’ at the Pentagon, an option he did not relish. One-star generals were abundant across the rings of the Pentagon, and he did not like the idea that he would become what he felt was ineffective for his men, spending his days clasping hands with politicians. He used his chit, a one-time token that allowed members who had graduated from the Point to take a position that otherwise might be unavailable. He opted to migrate to the Judge Advocate General Corps, which required a two-year detachment to complete a Juris Doctorate, which he obtained from Harvard Law.

He moved to Eglin AFB, the home of the 7th SFG, to become a JAG officer after graduation, where he executed the roles of prosecutor, defense attorney, and eventually, a judge. He was promoted to Major General and then Lt. General, where he finally moved to Washington DC as the JAG Deputy Commander for the Army. After 30 years in service, he retired, deciding that DC life was not his style, and wanted to spend quality time with his aging parents, who resided in San Fierro.

He moved to San Andreas and was elected to the bench in the 12th district in San Fierro.

Several years later, his adoptive father passed away. Judge decided to move his mother into a “Seniors Community” – Judge was not permitted to call it an assisted living facility, or his mother would read him the riot act. The old house reminded her of Masaaki, and she could not bear it. While she was capable, she was now 86, and he feared she could not or should not be completely alone. He found an excellent facility near Bakersfield, with only two downsides; it was expensive and a 10-hour drive from San Fierro. Even by plane, the nearest public airport was two and a half hours on a good day out, not to mention another three hours on the front end to get to the International Airport in San Fierro.

Judge researched and found that the sprawling community was less than an hour from Edwards AFB and that the military installation in Los Santos (for some odd reason) had multiple flights back and forth nearly daily to Andrews. While no judiciary positions were available near the desert base, there was a vibrant community in Los Santos where he could work as a seated judge once again. Given his need to spend nearly his entire retirement in his mother’s community home, he needed employment.

As a retired three-star, he could make use of the frequent flights by ‘hopping’ back and forth at no cost, permitting him the opportunity to regularly visit his mother while still providing him a means of income. As such, Judge took a leave of absence from the San Fierro bench and decided to travel to Los Santos, hoping he could find a suitable role.

However, before he could retake the Bar and apply for a role, Judge was recalled to active duty to lead a SOCOM effort to operationalize J4 actions.

After leaving once more, he ended up for a year in New Liberty to run the Supreme Court and DOJ as Chief Justice.   Having accomplished the framework building, he returns to Los Santos to find employment on the bench.

In transitioning from an operational role into the law, he has mitigated some of the most profound character flaws – that of suppressed emotional responses to all stimuli – to benefit his newfound career option. He has but one goal, as he is unmarried and unattached – and likely to remain thus for the rest of his life – that is to take care of his mother.   He feels an intense responsibility to her, for her, and is content sending all his pension toward her residence.

## Motivations

Some fundamental tenets guide Judge's life. Those are loyalty, integrity, and honor. Even in 1985, those are either becoming passe or used to sell action movies, with no real consideration of the true meaning. He is guided by his desire to provide for his mother and to show his loyalty to the only family remaining to him. Throughout his life, he has focused on bringing honor to the name of Singleton and Hocho. John Wooden said during his 1970 season that “The true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching.”