I think most of the judges did their jobs within the confines of the law. Judges can't have passions or personal opinions or they would not be impartial. That impartiality in a life and death situation like this appears cold and mean, but this appearance is the result of the necessary impartiality judges must posses when making decisions.
I do question some of the things that happened in Greer's courtroom, but once it went to the appellate level, no laws were broken and no precidents were set. The system functioned impartially and I don't think there was any legislating from the bench.
So what law is it that denies a person water in this country? That was a NEW law enacted by Judge Greer.