If he could do it, they could do it.
That was the expectation former Chattanooga City Judge Walter Williams, who died last week at the age of 73, had for defendants who came before him.
That expectation, during his 12 years on the bench, led to both praise and controversy.
The praise came because Williams demanded respect, saw education as a way out for troubled youth and meted out alternative sentences for some instead of jailing them.
The controversy followed, and because of some of his alternative sentences, he received criticism and occasional reprimands from the Court of the Judiciary.