Judge Andrew Napolitano

May I call him “The Godfather of Freedom”?

When I first saw “The Judge”, on Glenn Beck’s TV program on Fox News, I thought, “Wow, who is this guy?”. I was seeking commentators who thought like I did. Beck was okay, sometimes great, but Napolitano was dead on. He stole the show as far as I am concerned! Napolitano is brilliant and delivers serious and straight talk about real freedom. The Judge has the best intellectual and legal arguments for freedom in America.

Andrew Paolo Napolitano, born June 6, 1950, in Newark, New Jersey) is a former New Jersey Superior Court Judge and now a political and legal analyst for Fox News Channel. Napolitano started on the channel in 1998, and currently serves as the network’s senior judicial analyst, commenting on legal news and trials. He is a graduate of Princeton University (where he was a founding member of the Concerned Alumni of PrincetonNotre Dame Law School. Napolitano is not related to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, whom he sometimes jokingly calls “Cousin Janet.”

Judicial and academic career

Napolitano sat on the New Jersey bench from 1987 to 1995, becoming the state’s youngest then-sitting Superior Court judge. He also served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law for 11 years. Napolitano resigned his judgeship in 1995 to pursue his writing and television career.

Media career

Prior to joining Fox as a news analyst, Napolitano was the presiding judge on the television show, Power of Attorney, in which people brought small-claims disputes to a televised courtroom. In deference to similar formats, plaintiffs and defendants were represented, “pro bono,” by famous attorneys. The show ran in syndication during the 2000–2001 season.

From 2006 to 2010, Napolitano co-hosted a talk radio show on Fox News Radio with Brian Kilmeade titled Brian and the Judge.

Napolitano hosts a libertarian talk show called Freedom Watch (Wikipedia link) that airs daily, with new episodes on weekdays, on Fox Business. Frequent guests on Freedom Watch are Congressman Ron Paul, economist Peter Schiff, and Lew Rockwell. The show originally aired once a week on Wednesdays at 2:00 pm on Fox News’ strategy room. On September 14, 2009 it became a show that airs three to four times a week. On June 12, 2010 it debuted as a weekly show on Fox Business.

Napolitano regularly substituted for TV host Glenn Beck when Beck was absent from his program. After Beck announced he would be leaving Fox News, he asked Napolitano to replace him.

Writing career

In 2004, Napolitano wrote the book, Constitutional Chaos: What Happens When the Government Breaks its Own Laws, a criticism of the American justice system. In the National Review, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy noted that Napolitano had been a mid-level state judge and questioned Napolitano’s knowledge of the federal Constitution, citing what McCarthy asserted were numerous errors in Napolitano’s writing on the subject.

In 2006, his second book, The Constitution in Exile: How the Federal Government Has Seized Power by Rewriting the Supreme Law of the Land was published.

A third book, A Nation of Sheep, was released in October 2007.

In April 2009, Napolitano’s fourth book, Dred Scott’s Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America, was released.

In March, 2010, Napolitano’s fifth book was released: Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History.

According to Napolitano’s radio show, he is currently working on a sixth book which will be about President Barack Obama and the current state of America.

Politics

Napolitano is a pro-life libertarian also known as Libertarian conservatism. He splits his time living in Manhattan and Sussex County, New Jersey where he owns a farm that produces maple syrup.

Napolitano has called consumer advocate and frequent presidential candidate Ralph Nader a hero of his.

Professor Murray Sabrin and political commentator Lew Rockwell mentioned Napolitano as a possible vice presidential running mate for Republican Ron Paul during the 2008 presidential election, and of course many are wanting Napolitano to run with Ron Paul for the 2012 election, as well.