I'm incorrect, as seen in authoritarian regimes, in that you can put the genie back in the bottle if you beat enough people with daysticks. That creates huge resentment, usually leading to cycles of more riots and beatings. The status quo can be restored, just uglier.
I reckon there's another story in this. Maitland had lieutenants and they saw the evidence, first hand, her idea worked. They're demoted and scattered to nothing jobs but can see MC1 creaking under the strain. Meanwhile, Dredd investigates how an assassin simply walked out of prison. This leads to why and what Dredd really hates: politics. Dredd is a believer in the daystick but really hates corrupt judges, so has to ally with said lieutenants against Hernandez. Hernandez can't demote or publicly slander Dredd 'cos he's Dredd. So, it's time for even more murder and intrigue at the highest level.
I reckon there's another story in this. Maitland had lieutenants and they saw the evidence, first hand, her idea worked. They're demoted and scattered to nothing jobs but can see MC1 creaking under the strain. Meanwhile, Dredd investigates how an assassin simply walked out of prison. This leads to why and what Dredd really hates: politics. Dredd is a believer in the daystick but really hates corrupt judges, so has to ally with said lieutenants against Hernandez. Hernandez can't demote or publicly slander Dredd 'cos he's Dredd. So, it's time for even more murder and intrigue at the highest level.