I would presume suicide.
yep.
“...suicide”
Well I hope the mobsters that run the Dem party were more subtle than to shoot him in the back of the head and throw the gun like they did back in the Clinton days.
That would be my guess. Maybe he was close to being indicted for corruption.
Was he married?
He was recently involved in a disbarment proceeding of a lawyer. Maybe the other guy took revenge.
Definitely. The three shots in the back of the head are a "dead" giveaway, pardon the pun :).
Why would anyone take a gun, go to work, and commit suicide there? Why would his office be better than just any place outdoors?
If the suicide was a sudden decision, the victim couldn't have a gun handy - the courthouse does not allow guns; and though it's possible for a judge to sneak one in, there is no real need to do so. Judges have armed guards already.
If the suicide was a planned decision, why go to work, write papers whole day, and only then end it all? Who can even do such a thing, and why to do the work at all? If the work was that important, there will be more tomorrow anyway.
A judge dying in his office most likely means that he was simply there when he was killed. He couldn't be easily killed anywhere else. A sniper could, of course, take a position 500 yards away from the judge's house and kill him on the way home. This means that the killer was not a sniper, and he had no rifle, and he was not going to bother with establishing a [vulnerable] position. Getting to the judge in his office is certainly the most straightforward method. The complexities of getting a silenced gun, and of getting it through the detector, are purely technical, and can be managed. For example, take an overhead projector on a stand, or a computer, or a light fixture, and wheel it in through the detectors. It will beep since it's full of metal - but who is going to take it apart to look for an extra pound of steel that isn't supposed to be there? Who is going to remember that fact if the gun was prepositioned a week ahead of the murder?
My thoughts, too.
A lot would depend on where the head wound was located and whether the weapon was found near the body but, yes, my first guess would be suicide because:
a) a judge would be the type of person who could hide a gun in their briefcase and not have it checked and
b) this happened in the judge's chambers where one would presume only certain people have access.
So, if it were NOT a suicide or an accident (cleaning his gun) then you'd have to conclude a murderer would need to get a gun past security and have access to the judge's chamber making for a rather small list of available suspects. Not impossible that it's a murder but more improbable. Again, the head wound and the presence of a weapon at the man's feet will tell a lot.