Not even judges are beyond the reach of addiction

A trial judge in Tennessee has joined the ranks of many of those who had appeared in his court... he now faces criminal charges relating to prescription pain-killer addiction. Judge Richard Baumgartner had presided in the Knox county, TN criminal court for 20 years; and is alleged to have been addicted to oxycodone, hodrocodone and other drugs. Reportedly he had been prescribed the pills on account of pancreatitis which had resulted from chronic alcoholism. Among the sordid details mentioned in this case are accusations of his seeking drugs from defendants who had been prosecuted in his court and involvements with a woman who had graduated from his drug court program. Numerous published reports deal with this case. For one article about the federal probe and charges <click here>.
A couple of significant points come from the judge's predicament, not even considering the seven federal criminal charges and over 20 year potential prison sentence,

• Judges, who have a close-up view of some of the most tragic aspects of substance abuse and addiction, can themselves fall victim the the very same problems that plague the defendants appearing before them.
• The sequence of alcoholism; to physical illness; to opioid prescription; to abuse; to out of control addiction; is not limited to any certain class or group. If this can happen to a judge, it can happen to anybody.
• The question of "Who's watching the watchers?" can't continue to be ignored. The Tennessee legal system is facing a major problem involving cases over which this judge presided. It's unrealistic to randomly test locomotive engineers and airplane pilots for illicit substances while allowing the many others (including judges) who can have major impacts on people's lives to slip by.