Pubdate: Tue, 24 Feb 2004
Source: Holland Sentinel (MI)
Copyright: 2004 The Holland Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1145
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Thomas+Gilbert

POT-SMOKING JUDGE WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2004

TRAVERSE CITY (AP) -- District Judge Thomas Gilbert, who admitted
smoking marijuana at a Rolling Stones concert in 2002, says he will
not seek re-election this year.

Gilbert said he will resume his post March 29 and serve the remainder
of his four-year term, which expires at the end of the year. The
Michigan Supreme Court suspended him for six months without pay last
September.

"I will return to the bench with new knowledge and experiences that
will help me deal with problems of addiction that influence the
majority of our cases in the district court," he said in a statement
issued Sunday.

A witness reported to local officials that Gilbert had smoked a
marijuana cigarette at the Oct. 12, 2002 Rolling Stones concert at
Ford Field in Detroit. Gilbert admitted using the drug, then entered a
28-day rehabilitation program.

He returned to work afterward, but with a restricted case load that
did not include drunken driving or marijuana possession cases.

The state Supreme Court suspended him Sept. 25. In their order, the
justices said Gilbert had admitted to Judicial Tenure Commission
investigators that he used marijuana "approximately two times per year
and has continued to do so since becoming a judge."

Gilbert has blamed alcoholism for clouding his judgment.

"I apologize again for any embarrassment my past actions may have
caused, and I want to assure the public that, God willing, nothing
like that will happen again," he said Sunday.

He said he had been sober for 16 months, and "I am not the same person
I was."

"I hope my struggles and recovery journey can help other people in the
community who suffer from alcoholism and addiction," Gilbert said.

District Court Judge Michael Haley, the district's chief judge, said
he approved of Gilbert's decision.

"Tom's decision is considerate, I think, of the district court, in
that now the focus of media can reasonably be expected to shift to the
candidates for this position," Haley told the Traverse City
Record-Eagle.

Three local attorneys have announced plans to run for the judgeship in
the 86th District, which covers Antrim, Grand Traverse and Leelanau
counties. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake