Order in the court: Judge demonstrates link between dropouts and crime

Most judges rush through arraignments as fast as possible. And with 24 alleged criminals on his docket, one Wednesday earlier this month, Taylor County, W.V., Circuit Court Judge Alan D. Moats could have been forgiven for doing the same.

Instead, the judge took a little extra time to make a point about the state of education in America — and the consequences of our rueful dropout epidemic. 

Moats asked all 24 defendants how far they’d gotten in school. Just six of the people who stood before him had finished high school.