JUDGE ADMITS USE OF POT, TAKES LEAVE

TRAVERSE CITY (AP) -- A judge has taken an indefinite voluntary leave from
his duties after admitting to smoking marijuana at a recent Rolling Stones
concert.

District Judge Thomas Gilbert left the bench last week after he admitted
the drug use to Chief District Judge Michael Haley and District Judge
Thomas J. Phillips.

"He's full of shame and regret and it's just a very sad day for the
district court," Haley said.

An Elk Rapids woman told Haley last week that she saw the 86th District
judge smoke a marijuana cigarette as it was passed along a row of people at
the Oct. 12 concert in Detroit, Haley said.

Gilbert was not available for comment, but Haley provided the Record-Eagle
with a written statement from Gilbert.

"I broke the law by twice puffing on a marijuana cigarette during a rock
concert," Gilbert wrote in the statement. "I deeply regret this error in
judgment, for I have let down my fellow judges, the court staff, my family
and the community."

Gilbert will be on voluntary leave until at least Friday, pending a
professional assessment for substance abuse. Once he does return, he will
be limited to civil cases until further notice, Haley said.