 The judge's son, Reed, had already served briefly in the Illinois National Guard; during the war he became a pilot, and eventually an ace.Landis's disdain for draft dodgers and other opponents of the war was evident in July 1917, when he presided over the trials of some 120 men, mostly foreign-born Socialists, who had resisted the draft and rioted in Rockford, Illinois.According to Pietrusza, Landis "was frequently brutal in his remarks" to the defendants, interrogating them on their beliefs.