Special Judicial Squad

SJS judges (painted by John Burns)

The Special Judicial Squad or SJS, in the fictional Judge Dredd stories appearing in 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine, are sometimes referred to as the Judges who judge the Judges. They could be considered comparable to an internal affairs division, with significant secret police attributes as well.

In the course of the strip, they've been presented as outright villains, brutish antagonists, or a neutral/good force depending on the story.

Appearance

SJS judges wear uniforms that are a variation on the standard judge uniform, featuring the letters SJS, skull insignia, and differently styled helmet and shoulder pads. Different artists have depicted different interpretations of the uniform. The first artist to illustrate them was Brian Bolland for their first appearance in 2000 AD #86, but Mike McMahon's version in #91 was the first to feature the typical skull badge and distinctive shoulder pad with the wearer's name emblazoned on it. McMahon's design was used for the 2003 video game Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death. (John Burns's illustration, right, is based on McMahon's design.)

Fictional history

The SJS is despised by other Judges due to their extreme methods, which include random searches and the torture of Judges during interrogations.^[1] While Dredd has clashed with Squad over their methods, he has considered them a useful branch and in 2080 they tried to recruit him.^[2]

The insane Judge Cal controlled the SJS during his series of assassinations which gained him the position of chief judge, further enhancing their notoriety.^[3] As head of SJS, Cal was able to blackmail numerous corrupt judges into helping him, ensuring that he had plenty of allies to assist him in his coup d'état. This evidence eventually came to light over twenty years later, by which time many of Cal's subverted judges had been promoted to very senior positions in the Justice Department, and there were several arrests.^[4] When Cal usurped power, the SJS (depicted as a sinister Praetorian Guard to go with "Judge Caligula") attempted to frame Dredd for murder, and later tried to assassinate him. SJS Judge Quimby assassinated Chief Judge Goodman.^[5] Cal used the SJS to keep the other judges and citizens in line.

Following Cal's death Judge McGruder was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the SJS and restoring its integrity.^[6] Since then the SJS has produced two more chief judges: McGruder herself, and Judge Volt.

In "The Interrogation", Dredd was abducted by SJS men under Judge Spiegl and viciously interrogated on spurious grounds. Dredd believed the SJS had turned corrupt again and that the body may be planning a coup, though it turned out to be a routine Random Physical Abuse Test of him instead (he passed).^[7] Years later, an RPA would go wrong and two SJS Judges were killed, and Spiegl and Dredd came to blows over it. The incident showed tension between SJS and Street Judges, who ignored the beating Dredd gave Spiegl.^[8]

Judge Niles was head of the SJS during Chief Judge McGruder's second term, and was part of a conspiracy to force her to resign when her mental health deteriorated. Once she left office, Chief Judge Volt appointed Niles to the ruling Council of Five.

By 2117, Sector 301 ("the Pit") was hideously corrupt and so were the local Special Judicial Squad, with the chief Judge Roth being in bed with the Frendz. This caused Dredd to set up an internal investigation outside of SJS control, consisting entirely of street judges led by Judge DeMarco and then by Judges Buell & Garcia. After the death of Roth, Buell and Garcia were placed in charge of the sector's SJS: Buell was surprised to realise he had a knack for hunting down bent judges.

Buell went on to become the head of the Squad in 2112 and part of the Council of Five. His deputy was Garcia until she was killed in action in 2134. In "Tour of Duty", it was Buell and Garcia's SJS who stormed in and arrested Chief Judge Sinfield after proving he had used criminal means to gain power.^[9]

From 2117 its headquarters was based inside the Statue of Judgement (as well as the Public Surveillance Unit which was also based there);^[10] ironically Cal fell to his death from the top of the statue.^[11] The statue was destroyed by terrorists in 2134;^[12] and shortly afterwards a new headquarters building was depicted, named as "SJS Central" and suffering administration problems because of the statue's loss.^[13]

In the spin-off strip Insurrection, the SJS had a large army with vast warships – the Justice Control Divisions – that ensured MC-1 colony planets did not try to secede. In earlier spinoff Maelstron, SJS teams are sent to colony worlds with local Justice Departments to clear them of corruption.

Following the events of Day of Chaos in 2134, the SJS were discredited for not uncovering a nest of high-ranking Soviet agents. The SJS were also facing a massive reorganisation, being absorbed into a new Undercover Operations Division where Buell would be a subordinate.^[14] In 2014 (2136 in the strip), Buell was still on the Council, the reorganisation having been cancelled. But in December 2015 another SJS judge was shown on the Council in Buell's place.^[15]

Notable members

Heads of SJS

(This list is incomplete.)

• Judge Cal ????–2100 or 2101
• Judge McGruder 2101–2104
• Judge Niles 2112–2122
• Judge Buell 2122–present (as of 2012)

Deputy Heads of SJS

(This list is incomplete.)

• Judge Muncie ????–2122
• Judge Garcia 2122–2134

Others

• Judge Eliphas
• Judge Ishmael
• Judge Quincy
• Judge Slocum
• Judge Spiegl
• Judge Waldron

Foreign equivalents

• The Bahamas Justice Department has its own Special Judicial Squad.^[16]
• Mega-City Two is given a SJS with their own distinct uniforms in IDW's Mega-City Two- City of Courts miniseries.
• The moon city Luna-1 has a SJS based out of a formidable castle-like building, adorned with an eagle clutching two skulls. Unlike Mega-City One, the Luna-1 SJS were given near automony and authorisation to torture suspects. In 2126, when the megacity faced an insurgency, the hardliner SJS Chief Kessler (planning to take power) manipulated a weakened Chief Judge into giving him near-total control of the crackdown.
• In the Armitage strips, interrogations in Brit-Cit are carried out by Special Branch: wearing 'men in black' suits and shades, with explosive implants in their skulls.

References

• The A-Z of Judge Dredd: The Complete Encyclopedia from Aaron Aardvark to Zachary Zziiz (by Mike Butcher, St. Martin's Press, March 1995, ISBN 0-312-13733-8)