SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
JUDGE
BURLINGTON COUNTY COURT HOUSE 49 RANCOCAS ROAD P.O. BOX
6555 MOUNT HOLLY, NJ 08060
CHAMBERS OF MARIE E. LIHOTZ
May 6, 2003
Robert Edward Forchion, Jr.
P.O. Box 1302.
Browns Mills, NJ 08015
Linda Holden (w/enclosures)
XX XXXXXXX XX
Mount Holly, NJ 08060
RE: Forchion v. Holden
Docket No.: FD-03-839-96
Dear Mr. Forchion and Ms. Holden:
I received a courtesy letter from Mr. Forchion suggesting that he is going to resume his religious practices which he later defines in his letter to include "the use of marijuana in cultic ceremonies designed to bring the believer closer to the divinity and to enhance unity among believers.”
Mr. Forchion is advised that the use of marijuana is against the law. It is not freedom of religion. It is illegal.
While, I admire Mr. Forchion's candor and appreciate this notice, I assure him he has no religious freedom to break the law. By example, if he belonged to a religious cult that believed in murdering children in the course of cultic ceremony, such an act is not
religious freedom; it is murder. Essentially, Mr. Forchion has advised me of his intention to violate the law. It is my obligation to enforce all laws.
Mr. Forchion, therefore, is on notice, if the Court finds he is no longer complying with the requirements of his Intensive Supervision Program and declines the urinalysis and drug tests as suggested by him, and further if he intends to and does resume what he terms "religious practices" which is, the illegal use of marijuana, then he, and he alone, is jeopardizing his ability to spend time with his child.
The Court will not sanction illegal action. I must make it very clear that Mr. Forchion is making this choice. If he wants to engage in illegal activity, I will not look the other way.
