Posted on 02/01/2005 4:43:18 AM PST by smith288
|
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and driving outside marked lines yesterday in Wood County.
The 2:02 p.m. arrest by the State Highway Patrol followed several cellphone calls from motorists reporting an erratic driver on southbound I-75, according to Lt. Rick Zwayer, a patrol spokesman.
Resnick, 65, of Toledo, was pulled over near Rt. 6 south of Bowling Green, where she failed field sobriety tests, Zwayer said.
Resnick was taken to the patrols Findlay post, where she refused to take a test of her bloodalcohol content, Zwayer said. That led to the charge of operating under the influence, a firstdegree misdemeanor. The marked-lanes violation is a minor misdemeanor.
Her drivers license was automatically suspended because of her refusal to be tested.
Court officials said there is no standard disciplinary action when a judge is charged with driving under the influence. Only felony charges trigger an automatic suspension from the bench.
Resnick was released by the patrol to the custody of a relative.
She received a summons to appear at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Bowling Green Municipal Court.
"She wouldnt be considered a flight risk," Zwayer said.
Her state-owned car, a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee, was impounded.
Resnick, a justice since 1989, is the seven-member courts only Democrat. She could not be reached for comment last night.
Chris Davey, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, declined to comment. The court was not in session yesterday, but is scheduled to return today.
Resnick is a former judge of the 6 th District Court of Appeals in Toledo and before that served on the Toledo Municipal Court. She and her husband live in Toledo.
Resnick was part of a 4-3 majority and the author of one of the edicts that ruled against the state in a series of school-funding decisions that declared Ohios current setup unconstitutional.
She also was part of a fourjustice majority that in the late 1990s declared limits on civil lawsuits unconstitutional.
A four-year court battle over $4.2 million in secret contributions to a 2000 campaign to defeat Resnick ended Friday with the disclosure by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce of more than 300 donors names.
Resnick won a third six-year term despite the "Lady Justice" ad that showed a justice peeking from under her blindfold to see bags of cash being dumped on her desk.
Resnick defeated Republican Terrence ODonnell, of Rocky River, 57 percent to 43 percent. ODonnell later was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Bob Taft and was elected to complete an unexpired term Nov. 2.
Leaders of Citizens for a Strong Ohio, the chambers issue-advocacy group, argued it was not required to follow election law for candidates, political parties or political-action committees because it did not directly promote the election or defeat of a particular candidate.
The Ohio Elections Commission and several courts disagreed, ordering the disclosure of contributors names under the threat of $25,000-a-day fines.
jcraig@dispatch.com
bttt
WCMH-TV here in Columbus just aired footage of when she was driving on Interstate 75 and when she was pulled over.
She got out of the car to confront the police. She said it was ridiculous and that she wasn't drinking. She had been swerving for several miles and police said on the tape that they had received phone calls about her driving on Interstate 75.
This is going to get even more interesting.
Now you're just being silly. Legal malpractice cases are far from rare, even in South Carolina.
http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4149702/detail.html
State Justice Charged With Drunken Driving
Patrol Says Resnick Failed Sobriety Tests
UPDATED: 6:47 PM EST February 1, 2005
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A state Supreme Court justice was pulled over and charged with driving under the influence after several motorists called to report an erratic driver on an interstate.
"A strong odor of alcohol was detected" on Justice Alice Robie Resnick, and police believe alcohol was the reason for the erratic driving, Lt. Rick Zwayer, a State Highway Patrol spokesman, said Tuesday.
Resnick, 65, of Toledo, was arrested Monday afternoon on Interstate 75 near Bowling Green in northwest Ohio, Zwayer said. She was driving a gold Jeep Cherokee, which is a state-issued vehicle, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.
She failed field sobriety tests and refused to take a blood-alcohol content test, Zwayer said. She also was charged with driving outside marked lines.
SLIDESHOW: Judge Pulled Over
An unofficial portable test was given along I-75, and Resnick tested at more than twice the legal limit, Burton reported. The test was given at about 2 p.m., Burton reported.
"What are you going to do with me, take me to jail?" Resnick asked at one point during the stop.
The Highway Patrol started following the judge after a number of drivers called 911, Burton reported.
"I have a car right in front of me going on 75 South swerving all over the place, going across the median," one caller said.
"I got what looks like a drunk driver out here on 75 southbound, south of Toledo," another caller said.
Resnick pulled over at mile marker 173.
"The way you were driving, I can't let you go on," an officer told Resnick.
The two troopers who pulled Resnick over called for a supervisor. Instead of waiting inside her car, Resnick confronted the two troopers, Burton reported.
"This is ridiculous," Resnick is heard saying on the in-cruiser camera. "There's nothing wrong with me."
Resnick conversed with the troopers often during the stop.
"I've always said the Highway Patrol should drive us to work," Resnick told the officers at one point. "They do it for the U.S. Supreme Court. This is so embarrassing."
FeedRoom
Justice Arrest On Tape
The trooper told Resnick that he could smell alcohol.
"Come on," Resnick responded. "I have not been drinking. You know you are really infringing on my ... OK, I'm not going to [inaudible]."
Resnick then returned to her vehicle.
Two Bowling Green officers first saw the judge get off the interstate and pull into a gas station earlier in the day, Burton reported.
According to police records, the officers asked Resnick if she had been drinking or was on any medicine. She said no.
Records showed that the judge told them she just wanted to go to Columbus and that she was not going to take any tests. The officers advised her not to leave, but Resnick rolled up her window and left, Burton reported.
She pulled over again six miles later, Burton reported.
Justice Alice Robie Resnick
Driving while intoxicated is a misdemeanor that carries a possible penalty of three days to six months in jail and a fine of $250 to $1,000. Resnick's driver's license was suspended for a year for refusing the breath test, although a judge can revise the suspension to a shorter period or up to three years.
A message seeking comment was left for Resnick, who did not attend court hearings Tuesday on a death penalty case and a medical malpractice case. Resnick, a justice since 1989, is the court's only Democrat.
Court officials said there is no automatic disciplinary action when a judge is charged with driving under the influence.
Resnick, who previously served as an assistant county prosecutor, a municipal judge and a state appeals court judge, has voted in a handful of drunken driving cases with the Supreme Court.
In 1996, for example, she wrote the majority opinion in a case that said police do not have to tell people suspected of drunken driving that they have the right to a second, independent blood alcohol test.
Her arrest came just days after the conclusion of a long-running court battle over an unsuccessful attempt by business groups to unseat her in 2000. On Friday, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce was forced to disclose who contributed to the advertising campaign.
Faced with $25,000 in daily fines, the chamber complied with a court order by providing a list of 383 donors who gave $4.2 million to a chamber organization that raised money to defeat Resnick.
Business groups are said to dislike Resnick because of votes she cast that went against the insurance industry and companies trying to limit personal injury lawsuits.
The campaign included a television ad showing a female justice changing a vote after bags of money are dumped on her desk.
Since Republicans regained control of the court in 2003, justices have made a handful of rulings that businesses say are more favorable to their interests.
You are right on. The same thing happened in the People's Republic of Washington last year - Bobbi Bridges (a Dim).
She passed go, probably collected $200, and got a get out of jail free card. She's still on the bench and will be the one of the ones who rules on Rossi v.s. Fraudoire if the case gets bumped up to the WA SC (I'm sure it will).
Hope Ohio fairs better than WA state on this - maybe you will since she wasn't using a personal car.
Ha, Ha, I was thinking the same-she can't take the stress of being the lone 'Rat.
Flutters, a Justice of the State Supreme Court REFUSED to take a breathalyzer test? What an example this fine example sets. Is there an impeachment procedure that the Ohio Senate can use?
Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
Seems this black robed tyrant thinks that the rules are only for the little people.
Northeast Ohio Pings!
Our Next Governor!!
I am starting a Blackwell for Governor ping list if/when I get enough material to ping...
Put me on it please!
Good points Tony,
Don't you miss Mayor Buck?
Local news was alot more fun in those days...........
Drunk at 2pm? I thought she was an Ohio Supreme Court Justice, not a US Senator!
Good deal.
Blackwell is the strongest individual in the Republican line-up.
Petro is a probably a good manager, but we need more than that. Betty is a non-starter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.