Ron George Lays Down the Law of the Street

California Chief Justice Ronald George apparently insists on courtesy outside the courtroom as well as in it.

On Wednesday afternoon, George was walking outside the State Building in San Francisco when he and a companion were nearly run down by a young man on a skateboard at the corner of Golden Gate Avenue and Polk Street. As the guy — in his early 20s — picked up his skateboard and headed on north across Golden Gate, George called out sternly, “No apology, I guess!”    

Chastened, the skateboarder responded by saying in a polite tone, “I said, ‘Excuse me, sir.’ I’m sorry.”

Guess even the state’s top jurist doesn’t take getting nearly bowled over lightly.

—  Mike McKee