Who is Judge Selah Lively from Spoon River Anthology and what is their importance?

Judge Lively tells the reader he is five feet two and he worked as a grocery clerk while he studied law until finally he became an attorney. He says through his diligence and regular attending of church he became the attorney for the richest man in town and then became county judge. All through the aforementioned, Lively tells the reader, the "giants" of the town laughed at his height and mocked his clothes. For this reason, Lively says, he naturally made things hard for the giants when they came to court and stood at the bar and said, "Your Honor."