The Book of Ruth (1:1) mercurially, maybe longingly, refers to a time "when judges judged." Today's judges judge, some more so than others.

When one asks the cognoscenti to name the finest trial judges in America, far more often than not U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in Manhattan is among them. And, unquestionably, it is because he never shies from the task—using his intelligence and experience to reach a result, often with intuitive and imaginative skill.