Chief Judge Fargo - Fictional Character Biography

Fictional Character Biography

Eustace Fargo was born on 9th January, 1999. Graduating from Harvard with a degree in Law, he went into politics and by 2027 he had been appointed Government Special Prosecutor for Street Crime by President Thomas Gurney, tasked with combatting the rising gang violence in the vast urban sprawl joining Washington to New York (which would eventually become Mega-City One). After armed gangs stormed the White House and were able to avoid jail sentences by intimidating juries, Fargo outlined a New Deal to scrap the principle of due process and create a combined police and judicial force who could fairly dispense instant justice – the Judges. When the Judges were first deployed in April 2031, they acted mainly as an upgraded police force but soon rivalled Congress in power. Fargo served as chief judge for twenty years.

In March 2051 Fargo – despite having established a rule of celibacy for the judges – had a moment of weakness and was caught having sex with a government colleague. While the incident was hushed up and Deputy Chief Judges Solomon and Goodman were both willing to ignore it, Fargo was left feeling guilty over his failure to live up to his own standards. He resigned his position and attempted suicide, though the wound only left him comatose. To cover this up and to use his martyrdom as a symbol, Solomon made up a cover story about Fargo being killed in a drive-by shooting. It was not expected that he would recover but he did, though this was also covered up, and he was placed in suspended animation.

The dates on Fargo's tomb read 2001–2051. The reason for the false birthdate was lost in time, though Judge Dredd speculated: "It's the date he always used. Maybe he wanted to be thought a child of the 21st century."

When President Booth initiated the Third World War in June 2070, the Judges were forced to take on the job of governing the Mega-Cities of America. Fargo was revived and made relatively stable, meeting his two clones Rico and Joe Dredd and being called in to help guide the Justice Department. Under his guidance, the Judges assumed command of the United States using the Declaration of Independence as a legal precedent. Booth learned Fargo was alive and, thinking he could use this fact to discredit the Judges, tried to capture him and reveal his existence but failed due to the actions of Joe and Rico Dredd.

Until 2071, Fargo served secretly as an advisor to the chief judge, with most people believing he had died in 2051. In his last year of life he began to deteriorate mentally, and lost faith in his Judge System. He became increasingly despondent as a result, disliking the fact that the Judges had turned America into a dictatorship.

He was placed into suspended animation once more, only for his body to be stolen by renegade judges and eventually lost in the Cursed Earth. His body and stasis pod became an object of worship for a mutant tribe. In 2129 persons unknown – later discovered to be the New Mutant Army led by Booth – contacted the Justice Department, demanding cash in return for Fargo's body. Judge Dredd retrieved Fargo, who was revived, but the long period of being frozen had damaged his body and he soon died. His last words were to Dredd, telling him the Judges' rule was wrong and that he had to reverse it.

Fargo's hometown still exists and has been renamed Fargoville in his honour. There everyone's first name is Eustace and there is a museum about his life.