According to Good Morning America, Judge Robert D. Leonard II wanted to help parents out after seeing a conversation on social media talking about the stress of the upcoming Elf on the Shelf. He decided to take matters into his own hands and banned the whole tradition. “My family loves all of our Elves and it is a fun family tradition. However, it is a nightly commitment and if you miss a night, you have some explaining to do,” Judge Leonard, who is the chief judge of the Superior Court of Cobb County said at the time. “I decided that for those people that needed to retire their Elf or put it out later in the year, I could take the heat for them with a mock order,” Leonard added. So, he took to Twitter and shared a legal letter banning the elf. “I am a public servant and will take the heat for you,” he said. “My gift to tired parents.” “This Court finds ‘The Elf on the Shelf,’ hereinafter ‘Elves’ represent a distraction to school students and a risk to the emotional health and well being of Cobb’s young children,” the legal notice read. “Inexplicably, Elves sometimes move and don’t move overnight. “ The letter continued, “The undersigned recalls a horrific incident in his own home where three children were sent to school in tears, with one child being labeled an ‘Elf Murderer’ and accused of making the elf ‘lose his magic.’” Of course, the letter was “tongue-in-cheek” and not intended to be real. He said it “was intended to be a good laugh for tired parents struggling to keep up with their nightly Elf duties.” He ended, “If you love your elf, keep your elf. No contempts.”
