Judged by the Works, Minus the Hairpiece: When Justice Meets Politics, Law, Power, and Ethics

Judge Gregory J. Middents has spent more than four decades in public service, law, and politics, serving sixteen years, four terms on the bench and working on four presidential campaigns. From the campaign trail to the courtroom, he has witnessed the best and worst of American civic life. Judged by the Works, Minus the Hairpiece is his candid and deeply personal journey through the victories, betrayals, humor, and hard-earned lessons of a life devoted to justice, faith, and public service in Texas.

Raised in Texas, Middents learned early that politics is ultimately about people-their struggles, hopes, flaws, and second chances. "Those lessons carried him from local campaigns to the national political stage, where he worked on the presidential campaigns of Gary Hart, Dick Gephardt, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden's successful 2019-20 campaign. But his greatest calling would come closer to home, serving sixteen years as an elected Judge, Justice of the Peace for Grayson County, Texas. Inside the courtroom, Middents witnessed humanity at its most broken-and sometimes at its most redeeming. He established the county's first truancy court and helped pioneer jail diversion efforts that ultimately led to the creation of its first veteran's court. Along the way, he confronted tragedies that stay with judges long after the courtroom lights go dark and came to believe that compassion, accountability, and second chances can change lives more effectively than punishment alone.

Outside the courtroom, politics proved no less unforgiving. Middents faced smear campaigns, public attacks, betrayal, and threats from anti-government extremists. Through every battle, he learned that integrity is tested most when the headlines turn cruel, the crowds disappear, and standing your ground comes at a cost.

Blending political memoir, courtroom drama, Texas history, and personal reflection, Judged by the Works, Minus the Hairpiece pulls back the curtain on what really happens behind the robe-and behind America's political machine. Told with humor, humility, honesty, and an unmistakably human voice, the book offers a rare firsthand account of power, loyalty, ethics, ambition, and perseverance in modern public life.

More than a memoir, this is a story about endurance, redemption, and one man's lifelong belief that democracy only works when ordinary people are willing to fight for it.

If you've ever wondered what justice looks like when the cameras are off-or what politics demands of the people brave enough to believe in it-this is a book you will not forget.

Even amid the serious moments, Middents never loses his sense of humor-especially in the unforgettable and hilariously self-aware hairpiece chapter.