Arizona Judge Resigns After Plea of Guilty to Felony Drug Charge

Superior Court Judge Philip Marquardt, a 20-year veteran of the bench, resigned Thursday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess marijuana, a felony, and admitting he was addicted to the drug.

The Maricopa County judge, 56, who was retained by voters in 1988 despite a misdemeanor marijuana conviction that year, faces up to 22 months in prison.

“I have a serious problem, an addiction to marijuana,” Marquardt told a press conference. A recovering alcoholic, the judge said he remained sober for many years before he began using marijuana as a substitute for alcohol.

He apologized to his fellow judges and to the voters and asked for their understanding. “I did not fail them as a judge, I failed them as a human being,” he said.

Police said they learned that Marquardt had requested a shipment of marijuana from a friend in New Mexico. Police searching Marquardt’s home found a package containing 13 ounces of the drug hidden between the pages of a Bar Bulletin magazine, a professional publication for lawyers and judges.

Marquardt had been arrested in 1988 at Houston International Airport after Customs agents found a small amount of marijuana in his pocket. The judge claimed then he was unaware of the contents of the package, which had been given to him while he was on vacation in Mexico. Marquardt was convicted of the misdemeanor possession charge and was sentenced to a day in jail and a $500 fine.