City attorney charged after he drops joint in court

An assistant city attorney was collared in a magistrate court in New Orleans after a joint fell out of his pocket and landed on the floor Monday in front of two cops who were waiting to testify in a routine case, the Times-Picayune reports.

As a first-time offender, Jason Cantrell, 43, was issued a summons for simple possession of marijuana, but later resigned his city post.

The newspaper quotes an unidentifed source as saying the cops "glanced at the joint on the ground, then at each other before making arguably the easiest collar in the annals of police work."

The attorney's wife, LaToya Cantrell, who is a candidate for the City Council, says she is angry and embarrassed at her husband's "lack of judgment" and will encourage him "to seek the professional help he needs," the Times-Picayunereports.