JUDGE PROTESTS LAFAYETTE'S NEW MARIJUANA LAW

Protesting harsher penalties on marijuana possession, associate
municipal court judge Leonard Frieling resigned this Monday. The new
law, which is pending final approval, was passed by Lafayette City
Council, and would increase the penalty for marijuana possession from
$100 to $1,000, with up to one year of possible jail time.

In a resignation letter addressed to city officials, Frieling said
that he could not sit on the bench "in good conscience and unwillingly
enforce the new municipal ordinance." "Specifically since you have
seen fit to increase the penalty for cannabis possession from a $100
fine (which matches the state penalty) to a $1,000 fine and a year in
jail, I find that I am morally and ethically unable to sit as a judge
for the city," said Frieling in his letter.

City officials in favor of the law change argue that the intended
effect was to give judges more discretion when sentencing marijuana
offenders. Under the new law, judges can still fine individuals the
minimum $100, they say.