Two heads are better...

The photo in today’s Daily Record (subscriber-only link) of retired Court of Appeals Judge Dale R. Cathell fishing is unmistakably him — but check out his official photo (at right) in the state archives. Does something look a little off?

According to Cathell, when his picture was set to go online, the judiciary didn’t have a shot of him in the red robes of the top court. So, he said, they took a photo of his head from his official Court of Special Appeals picture and pasted it onto a photo (below, at right) of Court of Appeals Judge Lawrence F. Rodowsky, who is also now retired.

“He’s always maintained that,” Rodowsky said with a chuckle. “He claims that that’s what happened; I don’t know.”

If you look at the photos side-by-side — paying special attention to the folds in the robe and the books in the background — it looks like Cathell has a good case.

Cathell, who told this tale last month during his pre-retirement interview, said he never minded the cut-and-paste job too much, since it makes him look bigger than he actually is. Rodowsky, on the other hand, said his body probably looks better with Cathell’s head on it.

-CARYN TAMBER, Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer