I have been an attorney in New Jersey since 1985. I have appeared in municipal court hundreds if not thousands of times. I have seen it all and believe I know the system that we are dealing with. Recently, in a small municipality in Passaic County, I reached a point where I can no longer remain silent.

I represented a 19-year old college student who had been charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of alcohol (underage), all contained in her college dorm room. A dorm RA (resident advisor/assistant) smelled the odor of marijuana and called a campus police officer who knocked on the door and proceeded to do a search of the room finding my client's stash—literally a thimble-full of pot. Prior to the case being heard in court my client had already been kicked out of her dorm (which had been paid for in full), had a full disciplinary proceeding from the University (for which she had been placed on probation) and had to contend with all of this while studying for finals in a very difficult major. Due to the implications of the full charges, we were offered we accepted a conditional discharge which involved approximately $850 in fines and surcharges to go along with a one-year term of probation served through the Passaic County Probation Department. Along with a legal fee for my services, it was a very expensive evening for a student who could ill afford it.

I certainly recognize that the possession of marijuana is illegal, and possessing the same on a college campus additionally flies in the face of the college's rules. My question is whether the punishment fits the crime in this circumstance and the thousands of other similar circumstances that take place throughout the Municipal Court system and Superior Courts of our state.