New Judge Has Smoking History but That Doesn’t Put County Out of Joint
UKIAH, Calif. — Mendocino County’s first Municipal judge is a lawyer who freely admitted that he had smoked marijuana in the past.
But then so did the other two finalists for the $82,000-a-year judicial post in the Northern California county renowned for growing pot.
“I think that the experience will make better judges of them,” said Mendocino County Supervisor Norman de Vall. “I think it brings a sense of reality into the courtroom.”
The Board of Supervisors, by a 3-2 vote Tuesday, chose Kirk Gustafson, 45, of Willits as the new judge over attorneys George Nelson and John Behnke.
The three finalists were selected from a list of 16 applicants to fill the post created from a consolidation of existing justice courts.
A call-in survey by a local radio station found that residents, by a margin of 3 to 1, did not oppose a judge simply because he had smoked marijuana at one time.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
