Judge — October 19, 1889 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Great Judicial Ring" This October 1889 *Judge* cartoon satirizes **judicial corruption** as "the offspring of corrupt politics." The illustration depicts a "ring"—a closed circle of corrupt officials profiting together—composed of judges and politicians exchanging what appear to be bribes or corrupt favors (represented by labeled documents held by the figures). The circular composition suggests an interconnected corrupt system where judicial officials are implicated in political misconduct. The caricatured faces and exaggerated features typical of 19th-century satirical art emphasize the personal culpability of specific (though unnamed here) individuals. The cartoon targets the widespread belief that courts had become compromised by political machines and corruption—a genuine Progressive Era concern about institutional integrity and the judiciary's independence from political influence.