To the closing quibble here:
An even more persnickety reader advises me that the ruling in question was not really judicial. Judge Shapiro was acting only in the capacity of a Hearing Officer. Feugh! again. He’s a judge, isn’t he? The filthy deed got done, didn’t it?
… I got the following response from a reader:
Dear Derb:
You were right to say “Feugh!” to the quibble over the hearing officer/judge distinction. There are thousands of adjudicatory officers in the executive branch with the title of “judge.” Administrative law judges, immigration judges, contract appeals judges, the list goes on and on.
We are not appointed by the President or confirmed by the Senate, but we are addressed as “judge” and expected to produce opinions reasoned like judicial opinions, and defensible on appeal.
Of course, Judge Shapiro’s decision will never have to be tested on appeal since the U.S. government, which “lost” the case at the hearing level, will not appeal.
And for those readers who still don’t know how to pronounce “Feugh!” let me explain one more time: It rhymes with “Peugh!”