Another One We Could Not Make
Up:
Judge Who Sentenced Medical Marijuana Activist Chavez To Six Years
Arrested In DWI. Three Times Legal Blood/Alcohol Limit
(Marijuananews note: Judge Thomas J. Borris
refused to allow medical marijuana activist Marvin Chavez to cite Prop. 215 as a defense
and sentenced him to six years in prison for trying to help people. The judge can get
drunk, endanger the public, and then go about his business.This level of hypocrisy and
injustice is beyond parody. We really could not make this up.)
See
"The state
prison officials are denying me the use of cannabis as my medication."
A New Letter From Medical Marijuana Prisoner Marvin Chavez
and
Chavez Sentenced To
Six Years For Medical Marijuana; Appeal To Follow;
Orange County Register Calls Sentence "Criminal" -- 2 Editorials
and
Chavez Found Guilty;
Faces Up To 7 Years In Case Marked By Judicial, Prosecutorial, And Police Misconduct
– 5 Articles
June 17, 1999
From The Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com
By Stuart Pfeifer
Police: Judge who hit tree was drunk
CRIME: Tests put his blood-alcohol level at almost three times
the legal limit during the crash.
By STUART PFEIFER
The Orange County Register
The supervising judge at the Westminster courthouse was charged with drunken driving
this week after tests showed he had a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal
limit when he crashed into a tree, authorities said Wednesday.
Huntington Beach police officers found Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Borris sitting on
a curb next to his dented 1996 Jeep Cherokee at about 1:25 a.m. Saturday, police said.
They arrested him after determining he had been drinking, police Lt. Chuck Thomas said.
Tests revealed that Borris, a judge for six years, had a
blood-alcohol level of 0.22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent,
at the time of the crash, court records show.
The judge declined to discuss the case Wednesday during an interview outside his
second-floor courtroom. He would not answer questions about his drinking habits or his
ability to preside over future drunken-driving cases. "I don’t have anything to
say," the judge said.
The judge’s lawyer, Edward Munoz, said he does not think the
arrest will affect Borris’ work.
"It was a mistake, and it has no effect on his performance on the bench,"
Munoz said. "He is a well-respected jurist in Orange County - a rising star. This was
a regrettable and unfortunate situation."
Borris, 45, was held for about four hours at Huntington Beach jail. The judge did not
attempt to use his position to influence arresting officers, Thomas said.
Presiding Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Leary removed county judges from the
case Tuesday, court records show. The case will be assigned to a Los Angeles judge, said
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh. Arraignment is scheduled for Aug.
6.
Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register
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