Pot-Head Judge Gets Arrested

Broward Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda is facing a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession after city police officers said they busted him for allegedly smoking pot in a Hollywood park Sunday afternoon. The judge played a role in the Anna Nicole Smith case when he briefly handled a small part of the paternity battle over the former Playboy centerfold's infant daughter. Korda, 59, was not arrested but was issued a notice to appear on April 26 in the satellite courthouse in Hollywood.

Court and state law enforcement records show no prior legal problems for the judge so he could qualify for a first-time offender pre-trial drug diversion program. But the allegation he used an illegal drug could result in a complaint to the Judicial Qualification Commission and possible discipline, several legal experts said. If the judicial watchdog agency found his conduct violated judicial rules, he could face a reprimand or removal from the bench. Anyone can file a complaint with the commission. The Judicial Qualification Commission said Monday that no complaint has been filed with the agency so far and, at this point, it is up to Broward's Chief Judge Dale Ross to decide if Korda should continue to work until the case is resolved. Through a spokesman, Ross said he had not yet decided what to do.

At about 2 p.m. Sunday, three officers who were in Stanley Goldman Memorial Park noticed Korda smoking a joint while sitting on the ground next to a tree in the park, Hollywood police spokesman Capt. Tony Rode said. "They said they smelled a very strong odor of what they found to be marijuana," Rode said. "They followed the smell to a gentleman sitting under a tree. He was actively smoking the marijuana cigarette as they approached him."The officers, who were in plain clothes and exercising while on-duty as permitted by department policy, said the joint tested positive for marijuana, Rode said. The judge, who lives in Hollywood, was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession. Police records said Korda had one marijuana cigarette. The officers did not know who Korda was until they asked his profession. "He at no time asked for preferential treatment," he said.

Korda was elected to the bench in 1978 and has worked in the Family Court division for more than a decade. He also served on the juvenile bench. Korda has been accused of insensitivity. All of Broward's judges had to attend sensitivity training last year after a series of events involving several judges. The final straw, said leaders of local minority bar associations, was a December 2005 incident when Korda berated a woman seeking a restraining order for speaking her native Spanish instead of English. Korda eventually apologized.

Lisa Metellus-Hood, former president of the Haitian Lawyers Association, and a critic of Korda's, said she thought clients appearing before Korda might be disturbed by the marijuana allegation."Probably the public would be more taken aback because as judges, their job is to chastise people and tell them what to do," she said.

Observations: Smoking marijuana should probably be decriminalized, especially when you consider it is a natural weed that once grew all over America. Some of the founding fathers allegedly smoked pot.

That being said, you can't ignore the hypocrisy issue. Here is a longtime judge (since 1978) who at some point in his career has probably sent at least a few people to prison for drug use, and yet he is a life-long reefer addict. In Family Court, he is deciding child custody issues and the fitness and character of parents. How does he rule when parents are regular drug users?

I doubt this judge is buying his weed off the streets, and more than likely his connection is dealing drugs to other judges and important people. It is probably somebody in his social circle, not a street-dealer. So why is there no concern about this? Can you imagine how much influence a judge's illegal drug dealer can have over a judge? Can you say CORRUPTION?

Unfortunately, here in South Florida, law enforcement always turns a blind eye to the obvious. If Law Enforcement in South Florida had any balls, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would be trying to arrest this judge when he is making his next drug buy. Maybe will lead to other community leaders who are also illegal drug users? At a minimum it will get one drug dealer off the streets. It would be interesting to find out if the judge's dealer ever used his power over the judge in order to influence judicial decisions?

Of course, if marijuana were legal, the judge (and anyone else) could smoke dope without having to buy it from drug dealers, and without directly or indirectly supporting organized crime. Not to mention that the state and federal government could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue by taxing marjuana.