Judge Farris

Judge Farris is one of the heroes of the 1994 Stephen King Horror Thriller, The Stand.



He is a man in his late-seventies, older guy, who joins Underwood's traveling party in Illinois while it is making its way to Nebraska. Usually referred to as "The Judge", Farris is a sharp, well-spoken, educated and insightful man who served as a judge in the 1950s, but has since retired. Swann and Underwood become very friendly with Farris, and Underwood is upset when he successfully recruits The Judge as the first Free Zone spy, but is unable to inform a distraught Swann of the Judge's whereabouts after he "vanishes" (The Judge actually accepts the duty before Underwood can even muster the confidence to make the request, as he understands the importance of the mission). When Larry Underwood and Farris have a couple beers at The Judge's house porch, The Judge assures a saddened Underwood that he'll be fine. The Judge attempts to infiltrate Las Vegas from the north, but is caught by Flagg’s sentries in Idaho—a firefight ensues and the Judge is killed by several shots to the head. However, the Judge's death is a direct violation of Flagg's orders and is the first vague sign that Flagg's power is failing, with his downfall coming. The sentries had been under strict orders not to "mark his head", so that the head could be delivered as a message to the Free Zone, and the narrative suggests that Randall Flagg brutally kills the surviving sentry, Bobby Terry (who had killed both Farris and the other sentry, Dave Roberts), for disfiguring the Judge's face and damaging Flagg's plan.[8]

In the miniseries, Judge Farris is portrayed by Ossie Davis, and travels to Boulder as part of Stuart Redman's party, rather than Underwood's.