Mann and his thought process as a judge triumph over that of Judge Gaston. Judge Ruffin believes that “dominance is essential,” and he sticks to that in his decisions. He openly admits that his opinion is harsher than that of most judges, but claims that he is only crying "crocodile tears", meaning that he has superficial sympathy for the slaves against whom he has ruled because he looks after the greater good of his people and protects them from an uprising. Judge Ruffin believes that keeping slaves under control is necessary in order to maintain the balance between master and slave, and for the period in which he ruled, this seems like the logical thing to do, especially given the growing fear of rebellious slaves. It's also why State v. Mann is the most important case to come out of the courtroom in the pre-Civil War South. The State v. Mann decision correctly defined the relationship between master and slave. It defined power and balance. This set the tone for all Masters on how they can rule over what is rightfully theirs. The State v. Mann and Ruffin decision is the most compelling case to emerge from the pre-Civil War courts.