Cheech Marin is having more luck with judges these days than former partner Tommy Chong. While a Miami district court judge recently confirmed that Chong must serve out a nine month sentence for conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia, Marin is looking for romance when he begins a recurring role on CBS' "Judging Amy."

Marin will play Ignacio Messina. CBS press materials describe his character as a "landscape architect" who does a little work around the house for Amy (Amy Brenneman) and Maxine (Tyne Daly) Gray. Soon sparks begin to fly between Ignacio and Maxine.

The "Up in Smoke" and "Born in East L.A." writer and star will first appear on the CBS drama in the Tuesday, Jan. 6 episode, titled "Christenings." He will be seen in multiple episodes.

In addition to his pot-friendly films with Chong, Marin has co-starred on "Nash Bridges" and had supporting roles in a number of features including, most recently, Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico."

It's unclear what impact Marin's "Judging Amy" role will have on the still-nebulous future of the actor's FOX comedy "The Ortegas." Based on the popular British format "The Kumars at No. 42," the series was set to air this fall on Sunday nights at 8:30 p.m. ET. It was pulled from the schedule when FOX shifted "The Bernie Mac Show" to Sundays and while the network insists that it will eventually air, "The Ortegas" has yet to find a new home.