Judge Won't Stop Vaping On The Bench

This is how rivers catch fire.

Somewhere along the line, the people who vape decided that we were all supposed to give their oral fixation a pass and let them turn the whole world into their private opium den. It’s certainly better than giving everyone a massive dose of second-hand smoke, but now that they’ve flavored all their vape juice to smell just like Marlboro Reds, the only remaining difference between smoking and vaping is that the vapeheads have deluded themselves into thinking it’s socially acceptable.

Someone sucking on their high-tech binkie in a bar (or while you’re trying to record your award-winning podcast) is one thing, but a judge doing it during trial is a whole other level. But that’s apparently what’s been happening in Cuyahoga County:

Administrative Judge John J. Russo said Thursday that he approached Judge Joseph D. Russo and asked him to stop vaping on the bench earlier this year after a juror complained.

John Russo said that his colleague stopped vaping after their conversation. He also said that he asked the court’s human resources department to add language to its policy manual to specifically bar the use of vaping devices and e-cigarettes in the courtroom.

This presents the most high-stakes contest of competing theories of statutory interpretation to rock the Cuyahoga County courthouse in ages. Look at those crazy judicial activists get away with telling Judge Russo he can’t vape just because the rules clearly and obviously assume judges shouldn’t be blowing smoke in people’s facing regardless of the technology involved? Don’t tread on me, man!

Amazingly, this wasn’t Judge Russo’s first brush with the rules:

Joe Russo’s vaping was also called out in a January motion for a new trial filed by a man convicted of rape. Jaustin Browning wrote in the motion he filed himself that the judge was “constantly slurping and sucking on a battery powered smokeless watervapor cigar or cigarette (vape)” during his July 2018 bench trial.

Browning wrote that vapor was billowing out of Joe Russo’s mouth on the bench and that the device resembled “a teether or rattle which was a constant distraction.” The vape altered the judge’s brain chemistry so he could not give full-bridled attention and render a fair verdict.

The motion was denied, but all credit to the convicted rapist who thought “the judge was vaping” would make for a new trial. In the world of jailhouse lawyering, this guy may be the new Darrow.

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Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge had to be told to stop vaping on the bench [Cleveland.com]


HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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