Judge Francisco

Judge Dan Francisco is a fictional supporting character in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. He was chief judge of Mega-City One twice (2131–2132 and 2132–2134, or 2009 to 2012 in the comic). In 2013 he appeared in his own series in the Judge Dredd Megazine.

Fictional character biography

Before becoming chief judge, Francisco was a street judge and the subject of a 24-hour reality show called The Streets Of Dan Francisco – a major public relations boost for Justice Department. Despite his experience, however, he would often do what the audience expected rather than what made the most sense, due to the unremitting pressure from the constantly present cameras. Francisco was well-meaning and affable, and Dredd viewed him as a good judge, albeit one being continually manipulated by others.

In 2131 Judges Sinfield, Cardew and Millan began a campaign to run Francisco as a candidate to replace Judge Hershey as chief judge, running on an anti-mutant platform. He was elected by a landslide, thanks to an attempted assassination by a mutant gang. It later transpired that this had been set up by an anti-mutant group to ensure his victory, but the vote was unaffected by this revelation.