POT AND THE JUDGE

As you may recall, last Monday we borrowed a page from the playbook
of the Jackson Citizen Patriot in Jackson, Mich., and published an
editorial that reflected on three previous editorial positions and
then stated how those issues turned out.

At that time, we explained why we filed a Right-to-Know lawsuit
against the city over the board of aldermen's closed session on the
eve of the threatened teachers strike; why we believed the aldermen
should approve the most recent version of the teachers contract, and
why the New Hampshire House of Representatives should reject a
resolution urging Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings
against President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Coincidentally or not, our position prevailed in all three cases. A
Hillsborough County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of our suit,
the aldermen voted 13-1 to approve the contract, and the House tabled
the impeachment bill after a 45-minute debate, 227-95.

This week, we look back at two statewide issues on which we took a
stand:

MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION: Two young lawmakers from Nashua --
Democratic Reps. Jeffrey Fontas and Andrew Edwards, along with Keene
Democratic Rep. Charles Weed -- introduced legislation (HB 1623) to
decriminalize the possession of up to 1.25 ounces of marijuana.

Under the bill, the penalty would have been reduced to a violation
and a $200 fine. Currently, possession of any amount of marijuana is
a criminal misdemeanor that calls for up to a year in jail and a fine
of up to $2,000.

An amended version of that bill, lowering the amount to one-quarter
of an ounce, passed the House of Representatives in mid-March, 193-141.

What we wrote: "As mentioned in our previous editorial, we do not
condone the recreational use of marijuana in any quantity, nor do we
believe that passage of this bill would by definition lead to the
eventual legalization of pot outright. But we do believe that the
criminal record that accompanies these offenses is too steep a price
to pay for what many times is little more than a youthful
indiscretion. (March 25.)

What happened: On May 1, the state Senate killed the bill on a voice
vote, despite pleas from its sponsors to have the $200 fine apply
only to those who are charged with a first offense.

Comment: Given the young ages of the Nashua sponsors -- both were
19-year-old college students when elected in November 2006 -- shepherding
this controversial bill through the House was a remarkable achievement.

JUDGE COFFEY RESIGNATION: On April 18, the New Hampshire Supreme
Court suspended Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Patricia
Coffey for three years without pay for helping her husband shield
assets from creditors right before he was disbarred in 2005.

In doing so, the court rejected the recommendation of its Judicial
Conduct Committee, which had recommended the Rye judge be censured
and suspended for three months without pay.

What we said: "When compiling a list of professions that demand the
public's absolute trust, we would be hard-pressed to come up with
many that rank higher than a superior court judge. In this case, that
trust is now gone. That's not something that's going to come back
anytime soon -- and neither should she. (April 21)

What happened: Three days after the Supreme Court's ruling, Coffey
announced she was resigning from her position.

Comment: Facing renewed calls from Gov. John Lynch to resign and a petition
in the House to remove her from the bench, Coffey did the right thing.

BACKGROUND: The Telegraph recently took positions in favor of
marijuana decriminalization and the resignation/removal of Judge
Patricia Coffey.

CONCLUSION: After going 3-0 in last week's "Editorial Update," we had
to settle for a split decision in these two cases.