Ohio Judge Arrested for DUI

Montgomery County Miamisburg Municipal Court Judge Robert E. Messham Jr. was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on January 26th. According to reports, he side swiped another vehicle, causing the police to be called to the scene. There was minor vehicle damage, but no injuries were reported. Messham was arrested at the scene, but released the same night on his promise to appear in court when ordered.

Reports say that Messham Jr. has served in Miamisburg for more than 21 years. He is a proud sponsor of the D.A.R.E. program, and is remembered speaking out against drunk driving in 2002. He also was a regular supporter and participant in the town’s National Night Out to fight crime in neighborhoods.

Messham was due in court tomorrow, but will not be appearing because his lawyer has already entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. I for one hope his lawyer proves him innocent. What a shame it would be for a judge who decides what punishment is suitable for other’s crimes to be guilty of breaking the law himself. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this judge who was appointed to office by the governor and re-elected by the citizens of the town three times.

Another Ohio Judge Faces (Very Little) Punishment Following his DUI Arrest

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.

Yet Another Montana Judge Charged With DUI...

What are they serving at the judicial conferences in Montana? Just kidding, everybody knows what they serve at judicial conferences in every state: alcohol. That’s right, you can be sure that every judicial conference in America includes alcohol (ok, maybe not Utah). The participants enjoy beer, wine, and liquor as they serve the people by sharpening their guilt-finding skills. But for some reason Montana seems to have a distinct trend towards judges who drink and get behind the wheel.

This time it is Judge Linda Hartsock being charged with DUI. According to reports, she was cited in the courthouse parking lot after the Glasgow City police department received a complaint. She was not pulled over, but rather found in her car in the parking lot. Hartsock pled not guilty in court yesterday, however reports quote her saying, “I made the biggest mistake in the world. I'm not proud of it." She was apparently back at work Monday afternoon.

Reports say that Judge Dave Riggin presided over the initial appearance, but will remove himself from the case and another judge from out of the district will be brought in. No trial date has been scheduled. Further information about the alleged incident was not released by Glasgow Police or Glasgow City Court.  In other Montana DUI judge news, Ralph Dukart Jr., previously profiled here, has reportedly resigned following his DUI and subsequent driving suspended busts.

Montona Judge Doesn't Learn Lesson: Busted for DUI, then Driving Suspended

Meet Judge Ralph Dukart, who sits on the bench in Miles City, Montana. Notice in his picture that the DUI laws and fines are posted neatly on his bench. This judge was arrested on charges of drunk driving on September 14th. Police records state that the judge was pulled over for driving on the wrong side of the road. He received charges for both DUI and failure to drive in the appropriate lane.

After being released from jail on his own recognizance, Judge Dukart was sentenced on November 13th, after pleading guilty to driving under the influence. He received a ten day jail sentence that was suspended. He was ordered to pay a $585 fine, and his driver’s license was suspended for six months. He was also ordered to enroll in an alcohol assessment and treatment program. It was recommended that after doing so, he receive an occupational driver's license.

Lo and behold, On Friday, November 27th, Judge Dukart was cited once again. This time, the ticket was for driving on a suspended license. He was ordered to appear in court to enter a plea by December 1st. It will be interesting to see how this affects his six month license suspension and the occupational license seemed to be waiting for him after enrolling in treatment.

I also want to know if Judge Dukart will be permitted to hear DUI cases in the future. I'm very curiously waiting to see what the future holds for this judge. He's now seeing life from the other side of the bench...he's seeing life through the eyes of those whose fate was placed in his hands in days past. Hopefully he will treat others as he would want to be treated.

Update – DUI Judge Hit State Trooper, Spewed Racial Epithets, Claimed She Hadn’t Been Drinking, and Blew a 0.17 BAC; Gets 8 Month Slap on the Wrist

According to this article, allegedly sauce-saturated Judge Curtissa Cofield spewed racist belligerence at police in Connecticut upon being arrested for DUI, but she walked away with a mere 8-month suspension issued by the Connecticut Judicial Review Committee (JRC). This is quite a break, considering her BAC was more than twice the legal limit, not to mention that she allegedly verbally harassed the officers who apprehended her and threatened their careers.

Incredibly, the JRC seemed to overlook the fact that she had claimed not to have been drinking any alcohol at the police station, then testified under oath that she had consumed only two drinks (this before blowing a 0.17% BAC), and then retreated from that claim stating that she didn’t “have an accurate recollection.” It is insulting to lie to someone’s face, and Judge Cofield seems to be all over the map as far as how much she had to drink that night. What value do we place on truthfulness among the members of the judiciary?

During her 8-month suspension, Judge Cofield will have ample time to ponder the reasons why she was cut such a break. A lot of people believe that any individual other than an African-American judge would have been convicted of DUI, served five days in jail, and would have been treated much less respectfully and courteously than Judge Cofield. A white judge never would have gotten away with the racially-disparaging comments Cofield made. The result certainly would have been removal from the bench and possibly disbarment. Most individuals other than judges, however, don’t realize the basic fact underlying this case: DUI cases can be won, especially by those with connections or the funds to mount a full and effective defense.

Hypocritical Tyrant or Drunken Bigot? You be the Judge...

Meet Curtissa Cofield. She is cited as Connecticut's first black female judge in this article from the Hartford Courant, although no other qualifications for the job are mentioned. If being a black female is in fact her only qualification for service as a judge, that might explain a lot about her behavior on October 9th of last year.

It all started with a traffic accident. Somehow her honor allegedly failed to notice a parked police cruiser in a construction zone, and sideswiped his vehicle. This caused damage to both vehicles as well as injury to the officer. If this is starting to sound like the kind of dangerous driving behavior that judges normally lecture defendants about from their lofty perches atop the bench, wait 'til you get a load of her subsequent misconduct.

According to the article, Judge Cofield then distinguished herself even further by acting like a drunken lout at the police station. For starters, she referred to African-American State Police Sgt. Dwight Washington as a "nigger", and started addressing him as "Mr. Negro Washington" and "negro trooper." All the while, Curtissa was complaining that she was being treated "like a negro from the hood." Hmm... I guess she must think that when white folks sideswipe a parked police car in a construction zone and then blow a 0.17% BAC, they just get a ride home and a pat on the back. Her comments make one wonder how she customarily treats a real "negro from the hood" in her courtroom.

Sgt. Washington should have known that he was dealing with a sharp minded lawyer/judge who would beat the rap. Judge Cofield even gave him clues as to her legal brilliance, stating "...it comes down to the bottom line, who's smarter — me or you? We'll figure it out, won't we?" Despite her claim of higher intelligence, she was stupid enough to provide a urine sample which revealed her to be way, way, way over the limit for DUI (most judges are smart enough to "just say no"). She then let him know that she had no fear of any legal repercussions, stating "...we'll see what they say in court, won't we, Mr. Washington?" Strangely enough, she was right! Judge William Bright Jr. of Manchester admitted Curtissa to an alcohol education program above the objection of the trooper whose vehicle she hit.

If she completes the program, the charges will be dismissed. According to news reports, Trooper Michael Kowal suffered neck and back injuries as a result of the accident. Judge Bright did not hear anything about her behavior at the station when he heard the case on November 24th. He only briefly referred to it in passing on December 8th when he accepted her application for the alcohol education program. Apparently, he wasn't interested in the details.

Huh, that's kinda funny. Judges usually want to hear all about the details when a defendant fails to act polite and cooperative during a traffic stop or arrest. It almost makes you wonder if this judge wasn't getting special treatment. Of course, her troubles aren't quite over yet. According to Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the Legislative Judicial Committee, Judge Cofield now faces a hearing before the Connecticut Judicial Review Council. She is currently facing five charges of violating the judicial canons of conduct.

Incredibly, these charges do not include making a false official statement to the police as part of their investigation. Judge Cofield apparently lied when she stated "I had no alcohol to drink, Mr. Washington." Gosh, that sure is strange. Because over three hours after the accident, Curtissa submitted a urine sample that was over twice the maximum legal limit for DUI. How did all that alcohol get into her bloodstream if she wasn't drinking? Was she partaking in alcohol enemas? Well, she did also state "I'm a crack addict", and who knows what these crackheads will do to get a buzz.

The bottom line: Judge Cofield blamed illness for her behavior - she stated that she was suffering from "negro-itis". This was after telling the Trooper "I'm humiliated by your fucking attitude." His attitude? Sounds her honor (or her dishonor) might need some time in prison to figure out why people are disgusted with the attitude of some judges who act as if they are above the law while constantly dumping on those who are unfortunate enough to appear before them.

From the videotape and behavior reported in the latest articles, it sounds like Curtissa Cofield might be a disgrace to the judiciary, a liar, a boorish lush, an unqualified race-baiting product of "reverse" discrimination, and a good example of why DUI laws are meant to fail. Feel free to write Rep. Lawler at MLawlor99@juno.com and share your opinion as to the appropriate sentence for Curtissa Cofield. You be the judge - because it sounds like she isn't fit for the job.