Druggie judge exposed!

A man who has spent nearly 20 years on death row in Arizona is entitled to have his sentence reconsidered because the judge who imposed it was addicted to marijuana at the time, a sharply divided federal appeals court ruled Friday.

"The experts tell us that we can tolerate a certain number of insignificant parts of arsenic in our drinking water and a certain irreducible number of insect parts in our edible grain supplies," U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen S. Trott wrote in the 2-to-1 decision. "But we need not, and we should not, similarly tolerate a single drug-addicted jurist whose judgment is impaired, especially in a case involving life-and-death decisions.

"If it is against the law to drive a vehicle under the influence of marijuana, surely it must be at least equally offensive to allow a judge in a similar condition to preside over a capital trial," added Trott, a former prosecutor who was appointed by President Reagan.

Judge Alex Kozinski issued a sharp dissent, maintaining that his colleagues had taken "a giant leap into the unknown by ordering discovery and a hearing on whether Judge [Philip] Marquardt's marijuana addiction affected his rulings."

In Arizona, a state trial judge has the sole power to determine whether a defendant convicted of first-degree murder receives a death sentence. That differs from most states where jurors are asked to make a recommendation.

Marquardt's marijuana problem emerged several years after the trial. In 1991, he pleaded guilty to a felony involving a conspiracy to possess marijuana and "admitted to suffering from an addiction to the drug," Trott wrote. This was Marquardt's second conviction involving the use of marijuana.

Trott, joined by Circuit Judge Sidney R. Thomas, scoffed at Kozinski's prediction of dire consequences. "We seriously doubt the inflated assertion that thousands of state and federal judges will somehow fall within the ultra violet rays cast by our holding," Trott wrote.

On the other hand, "if Judge Kozinski's speculation about the vulnerable state of the judiciary should surprisingly turn out to be correct and that our benches are indeed occupied by judges against whom similar cases involving illegal drug usage and addiction can be made, this would seem to be an argument in favor of an inquiry, not a reason to look the other way," Trott wrote.

Northwestern law professor Steven Lubet, an expert on judicial behavior, said Trott's reasoning seemed unassailable but added that he understood Kozinski's concerns about a large number of investigations based on similar claims. "This case exposes the raw intersection of judicial decision making and administrative imperatives," Lubet said.

Judge Steve Trott and I have known each other on a friendly basis for the past twenty years. Every time one of my cases came before Trott in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Trott made known his knowledge of me to the other side and excused himself from the case.

Prior to his appointment to U.S. Attorney by President Ronald Reagan for the County of Los Angeles and six other California Counties, and then to the Ninth Circuit, Trott and I sat down and had a serious discussion on Constitutional issues and intents of our Founding Fathers. I was at the right place at the right time.

- Ron Branson

Given the absurdity of Mr. Kozinski's argument here, as brought forth by Mr. Trott in his argument in the same ruling no less, isn't it funny how Mr. Kozinski later tried to bolster his public appearance by currying favor from the demonstrators during the demonstration in front of the 9th Circuit courthouse in Pasadena, CA on May 3rd, 2002?

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