A judge in Ohio ordered a man to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of his probation.
Hamilton County judge Christopher Wagner ordered 21-year-old Brandon Rutherford to get the vaccine within the next two months or face jail time.
Listen to your favorite News/Talk station now on Audacy.
“He asked me was I vaccinated?” Rutherford told WCPO. “I told him no. And he asked me if I planned to get vaccined, and I told him no.”
Rutherford said his answer prompted the judge’s requirement.
“I don’t plan on getting it. I don’t want it,” the young man continued. “So, for him to tell me that I have to get it in order for me to not violate my probation is crazy because I’m just trying to do what I can to get off this as quickly as possible -- like finding a job and everything else -- but that little thing can set me back.”
His attorney questioned the judge’s authority to mandate vaccination.
“I don’t think the judges are within their powers to do that,” said defense attorney Carl Lewis, calling this the first time he’s ever heard of a judge wielding that kind of power.
Lewis said he plans to allow the judge’s given time window to expire before possibly filing a motion to stay the order.
Related
“It’s not like I’m out here getting into any more trouble or anything like that,” Rutherford lamented. “But because I don’t take a shot, they can send me to jail. I don’t agree with that.”
The judge later issued a statement contrasting the defendant’s vaccination hesitation with the deadly drug prosecutors accused him of possessing.
“This defendant was in possession of fentanyl, which is deadlier than the vaccine and COVID-19,” the statement read. “The defendant expressed no objection during the proceedings and stated no medical concerns and his attorney did not object. We will have to see what happens now that the defendant is expressing opposition.”
Related
Related
