Judge's son faces marijuana charge

The 27yearold son of Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Gordon Tidman was
released yesterday on cash bail after being charged with possession of
marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

James Tidman was arraigned in Dartmouth provincial court Wednesday under
Section 5.2 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, said Halifax
regional police Const. Gary Martin. He was arrested earlier in the day,
allegedly in possession of 5.5 kilograms of marijuana. Tidman has pleaded
not guilty.

"He just came home from Vancouver to get married," Justice Tidman said last
night. "We were just at his wedding rehearsal .... He's getting married on
Saturday."

Justice Tidman said James lives in Vancouver. He has a university degree,
and has been working and doing demonstrations in British Columbia for a
snowboard company.

"He's a young fellow who has given his mother and I nothing but joy until
this came up," said Justice Tidman. "This is a first for anything like this."

James Tidman who came home to Nova Scotia the morning he was arrested
is marrying a Halifax woman he has lived with "for some time," said his
father.

If James Tidman is found guilty of possession for the purpose of
trafficking, the penalties "are all over the place," his father said.

If a person has no criminal record and his father says James does not
he could get anything from a fine to probation to a suspended sentence "or
worstcase scenarios are jail sentences," said Justice Tidman.

The whole family was shocked by the charge, he said.

"It's not something that you expect or that you appreciate; but these
things happen."