Judge Francisco
Encyclopedia
Chief Judge Dan Francisco is a fictional supporting character in the Judge Dredd
comic strip in 2000 AD. He is chief judge
of Mega-City One
.
, Francisco was a street judge and the subject of a 24-hour reality show called The Streets Of Dan Francisco – a major public relations boost for Justice Department
. Despite his experience, however, he would often do what the audience expected rather than what made the most sense, due to the unremitting pressure from the constantly-present cameras. Francisco was well-meaning and affable, and Dredd viewed him as a good judge, albeit one being continually manipulated by others.
In 2131 Judges Sinfield
, Cardew and Millan began a campaign to run Francisco as a candidate to replace Judge Hershey
as chief judge, running on an anti-mutant
platform. He was elected by a landslide, thanks to an attempted assassination by a mutant gang. It later transpired that this had been set up by an anti-mutant group to ensure his victory, but the vote was unaffected by this revelation.
Depicting Francisco becoming chief judge in a story published in 2009 may be a reference to Barack Obama
becoming President of the United States earlier that year; 2000 AD publishers Rebellion Developments
have sold "campaign badges" of him, with the slogan "Change We Can Believe In!"
When Francisco took office, he appointed a completely new Council of Five
which included his backers Sinfield, Cardew and Millan. He appointed Sinfield deputy chief judge. Though Francisco survived the assassination attempt, he remained in a serious condition for some time. While he remained hospitalised, Sinfield was briefly acting chief judge.
Mutant townships
in the Cursed Earth
were set up, to which to expel the mutant citizens. Francisco also had Hershey and Dredd given new postings, off-world and in the townships respectively, until the mutant issue died down; how much of this was his own idea and how much was Sinfield's remains ambiguous. However, after discovering the conditions of the townships were little better than temporary shanty towns, Francisco forced through an increase in expenditure over Sinfield's objections, believing there was a moral duty to do the clearances "with humanity and generosity." This led Dredd to reappraise his original assessment of him.
Francisco was aware of the belief that he was easy to manipulate, and that Sinfield and his allies intended to do so. He nevertheless retained them on the Council of Five, both out of the belief that they had the city's interests in mind and out of his determination not to be a "typical politico." Late in the year, Francisco suffered a relapse when his body began to reject the prosthetic lungs fitted after his assassination attempt. Sinfield took advantage of Francisco's weakened, drug-addled state to dose him with a powerful hypnotic drug and persuade him to resign. Sinfield succeeded him as acting chief judge. Both Dredd and Mayor Ambrose
were left confused and suspicious by Francisco's sudden collapse in confidence and by his support of Sinfield. This eventually led to an investigation, and Sinfield's crime was uncovered. Sinfield was arrested, and Francisco returned to office. Francisco appointed Dredd to the Council of Five.
Sinfield received the mandatory sentence of 20 years on Titan, and Justice Department decided to cover up what had happened. However Francisco soon vetoed this, noting that showing that the law was even harder on corrupt Judges than on citizens might help the Judges' image.
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
comic strip in 2000 AD. He is chief judge
Chief Judge of Mega-City One
Chief Judge of Mega-City One is the title of several supporting characters in the Judge Dredd comic strip published in 2000 AD. The chief judge is dictator and head of state of Mega-City One, a fictional future city of around 400 million people in 22nd-century America...
of Mega-City One
Mega-City One
Mega-City One is a huge fictional city-state covering much of what is now the Eastern United States in the Judge Dredd comic book series. The exact boundaries of the city depend on which artist has drawn the story...
.
Fictional character biography
Before becoming chief judgeChief Judge of Mega-City One
Chief Judge of Mega-City One is the title of several supporting characters in the Judge Dredd comic strip published in 2000 AD. The chief judge is dictator and head of state of Mega-City One, a fictional future city of around 400 million people in 22nd-century America...
, Francisco was a street judge and the subject of a 24-hour reality show called The Streets Of Dan Francisco – a major public relations boost for Justice Department
Judge (2000 AD)
Judge is a title held by several significant characters in the Judge Dredd series, which appears in the British comics 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine...
. Despite his experience, however, he would often do what the audience expected rather than what made the most sense, due to the unremitting pressure from the constantly-present cameras. Francisco was well-meaning and affable, and Dredd viewed him as a good judge, albeit one being continually manipulated by others.
In 2131 Judges Sinfield
Judge Sinfield
Judge Martin Sinfield is a fictional supporting character and antagonist in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD, most notably in the story "Tour of Duty"...
, Cardew and Millan began a campaign to run Francisco as a candidate to replace Judge Hershey
Judge Hershey
Judge Barbara Hershey is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd series that appears in British comic 2000 AD. For nearly two decades she regularly appeared as Dredd's sidekick, before being promoted to become his superior: she was chief judge for nine years...
as chief judge, running on an anti-mutant
Mutants (Judge Dredd)
Mutants are a recurring theme in the Judge Dredd science-fiction stories published in British comics 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine...
platform. He was elected by a landslide, thanks to an attempted assassination by a mutant gang. It later transpired that this had been set up by an anti-mutant group to ensure his victory, but the vote was unaffected by this revelation.
Depicting Francisco becoming chief judge in a story published in 2009 may be a reference to Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
becoming President of the United States earlier that year; 2000 AD publishers Rebellion Developments
Rebellion Developments
Rebellion is a British computer games company, based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens vs. Predator computer game. It has published comic books since 2000 and launched its own book imprint, Abaddon Books, in 2006.-History:...
have sold "campaign badges" of him, with the slogan "Change We Can Believe In!"
When Francisco took office, he appointed a completely new Council of Five
Council of Five
The Council of Five is a fictional legislature and court in the Judge Dredd comic strip appearing in 2000 AD. It first appeared in 2000 AD prog 86 ....
which included his backers Sinfield, Cardew and Millan. He appointed Sinfield deputy chief judge. Though Francisco survived the assassination attempt, he remained in a serious condition for some time. While he remained hospitalised, Sinfield was briefly acting chief judge.
Mutant townships
Tour of Duty (Judge Dredd story)
Tour of Duty is a Judge Dredd story published in British comic 2000 AD . It lasted for 46 episodes, 39 of which were written by John Wagner. It has the greatest number of episodes and pages of any Judge Dredd story...
in the Cursed Earth
Cursed Earth
The Cursed Earth is a part of the fictional universe from the Judge Dredd series that appears in the UK comic book 2000 AD.-Background:...
were set up, to which to expel the mutant citizens. Francisco also had Hershey and Dredd given new postings, off-world and in the townships respectively, until the mutant issue died down; how much of this was his own idea and how much was Sinfield's remains ambiguous. However, after discovering the conditions of the townships were little better than temporary shanty towns, Francisco forced through an increase in expenditure over Sinfield's objections, believing there was a moral duty to do the clearances "with humanity and generosity." This led Dredd to reappraise his original assessment of him.
Francisco was aware of the belief that he was easy to manipulate, and that Sinfield and his allies intended to do so. He nevertheless retained them on the Council of Five, both out of the belief that they had the city's interests in mind and out of his determination not to be a "typical politico." Late in the year, Francisco suffered a relapse when his body began to reject the prosthetic lungs fitted after his assassination attempt. Sinfield took advantage of Francisco's weakened, drug-addled state to dose him with a powerful hypnotic drug and persuade him to resign. Sinfield succeeded him as acting chief judge. Both Dredd and Mayor Ambrose
PJ Maybe
Philip Janet Maybe is a fictional character in the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd. He is a notorious serial killer, and most notably assumed the identity of Mayor Byron Ambrose, who he murdered.-Fictional character biography:...
were left confused and suspicious by Francisco's sudden collapse in confidence and by his support of Sinfield. This eventually led to an investigation, and Sinfield's crime was uncovered. Sinfield was arrested, and Francisco returned to office. Francisco appointed Dredd to the Council of Five.
Sinfield received the mandatory sentence of 20 years on Titan, and Justice Department decided to cover up what had happened. However Francisco soon vetoed this, noting that showing that the law was even harder on corrupt Judges than on citizens might help the Judges' image.