by TChris

It's unfortunate that Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico learned the wrong lesson from the arrest of Chief District Judge W. John Brennan for possession of cocaine. Judge Brennan may also be charged with driving under the influence. He was stopped after turning into a parking lot to avoid a sobriety checkpoint on a Saturday morning, and was described as appearing "highly intoxicated." A passenger in his car was arrested for having cocaine in her purse.

Although Richardson considers Judge Brennan and his passenger to be his friends and says he is saddened by their arrest, his political response is predictable: more of the same.

"This incident will only redouble my efforts to deal with the DWI and drug scourges in our state in the next legislative session," Richardson said.

Richardson says Judge Brennan's case shows how pervasive drug use is, and vows to deal with the problem even more aggressively. In other words, still harsher penalties. Does Richardson think Judge Brennan, who presides over criminal cases, doesn't know the penalties for DWI or for cocaine possession? Does he think Judge Brennan wouldn't have committed these crimes if the penalties were even more extreme than they are?

The punishment model doesn't work. If it did, Judge Brennan -- who knew the risks as well as anyone and who had more to lose than most -- wouldn't have been getting high on a Saturday morning. The real lesson is that "more of the same" is not a solution. If a judge who sentences people for the same acts the judge is committing isn't deterred by the threat of punishment, why should we blindly assume that even harsher penalties will deter? People with substance abuse problems need help, not punishment -- whether they're judges, talk radio hosts, or kids on the street.