ALCOHOL DOESN'T ABSOLVE JUDGE OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR BEHAVIOR

As most people here know, Grand Traverse County District Court Judge Tom
Gilbert attended a Rolling Stones concert in Detroit recently and was seen
by someone from back home taking puffs on a joint as it went by. Gilbert
admitted to it when confronted by Chief Judge Mike Haley, and issued an
apology for an "error in judgment" on Nov. 7.

Gilbert went on paid leave then from his ($138,272 annual pay, including
benefits) job, his future uncertain. The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission
could elect to impose sanctions, but that could take months or years. Beyond
that, it would appear that it will be up to Gilbert, or voters when he comes
up for re-election in two years, to decide if he will return to the bench
and under what terms.

On Thursday, Haley announced that Gilbert had been admitted to an inpatient
28-day residential alcohol treatment program in Minnesota after being
assessed by a licensed alcohol treatment counselor. In an interview with the
Record-Eagle this week, Gilbert said that an alcohol problem led to the
"stupid decision" to smoke marijuana.

At 45, Gilbert grew up on the wave of an era that launched the not uncommon
practice of getting high at rock concerts. Many of his generation were
regular marijuana smokers, and some no doubt still are, despite the fact
that it remains as illegal now as it was then. Even if they no longer smoke
pot, it's doubtful that each and every one would pass up a joint if it came
their way at a concert.

But most of them are not judges. Gilbert is. And that's what has been so
obviously wrong about this whole mess from the beginning - and still is,
even if it happened because he'd been drinking and wasn't using the best
judgment.

Gilbert voluntarily chose to seek election to this very public position in
which he is sworn to uphold the law. Judges, like police officers, should be
above reproach. What else do they have if not their integrity?

How can we put our trust in a judge who has demonstrated the worst possible
judgment, even if it was fueled by alcohol? Drinking does not absolve us of
responsibility for our actions - there are a good number of prison inmates
who could attest to that. And how can a judge sit on the bench and decide
the fates of others who have run afoul of the law when he is a lawbreaker
himself?

Some have suggested that the fault is not with Gilbert's actions, but with
the law - that marijuana needs to be decriminalized. Fact is, using pot
right now is illegal in this country. As long as that is true, smoking it is
against the law.

Others have suggested that the woman who reported Gilbert's behavior is the
problem. Live and let live, they say. She had no business passing on what
she saw. Leave the poor guy alone.

No doubt she struggled with her decision. Or maybe she didn't. Maybe she was
as outraged as many others were upon learning of Gilbert's actions in
Detroit.

But she is not to blame. She's merely the messenger.

Knowing that Gilbert's judgment was impaired by alcohol helps explain how a
judge could be so careless as to smoke marijuana in a crowd of thousands and
not think someone might recognize him. Heck, he had to know that several of
his own colleagues from the bench and courthouse here were going to be
attending that same concert and might see him.

But unfortunate as it is, that doesn't mean he should not be held
responsible.

Our community elected Gilbert with the not unreasonable expectation that he
would uphold the law personally as well as professionally. Gilbert himself
said in an interview before he left this week, "I understand that you can't
be a judge and break the law, I understand that a hundred percent."

We don't want to kick a man when he's down. We sincerely hope Gilbert
succeeds in his treatment program, and that he is able to pick up the pieces
and move on with his career and life - maybe even seek a judgeship again
someday.

But what's done is done. It is time to begin the process of finding a
replacement who will live up to the standards required of a judge and help
erase the tarnish this incident has brought to the bench.

It is time for Gilbert to resign.