Does this guy look like a judge or a guy who got charged with drinking and driving? Trick question! Actually both answers appear to be correct according to this article detailing His Honor's guilty plea. Once again, we find that the very people who look down in judgment on those accused of driving drunk seem to do no better at upholding the law than the defendants they lecture every day.Judge David N. Abruzzo, of Ohio was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to yield to a public safety vehicle in September. According to the Ohio State Patrol, he refused to take a breath test on the night of his arrest. Abruzzo pled guilty in court on Wednesday to a misdemeanor, physical control of a vehicle while under the influence. That was a reduced charge. He was originally charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence. The failure to yield was dismissed!
Abruzzo has been practicing law for over thirty years! Must feel weird for him to be facing a judge, wondering what will become of his mistakes, although the "deal" was reportedly made during pre-trial negotiations. Abruzzo is still working as a judge, and has apologized to his community, according to reports. DUI judges are nothing new to Ohio. Disgraced Ohio Supreme Court judge Alice Robie Resnick pled guilty to a DUI in 2006 after ignoring the cop trying to pull her over and then blowing a 0.22. According to Wikipedia, she got out of charges of "failure to comply with a police officer, resisting arrest, [and] fleeing from police."
Hopefully Abruzzo will figure out from his experience why DUI laws are designed to fail, and how DUI defendants should be treated. But Blackrobitis can be a terrible disease, causing some judges to lose their common sense while drowning in a sea of privilege. Because the rules so rarely apply to judges, they can lose sight of the true impact of their actions. Thank goodness for the good judges who retain their mental acuity and objectivity.
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