Ohio Judge Orders Man to Obtain COVID-19 Vaccine

Madeline Leesman | August 10, 2021 5:00 PM

On Wednesday, an Ohio judge ordered a man to get the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of his probation.

During the sentencing hearing for 21-year-old Brandon Rutherford, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Wagner ordered Rutherford to provide proof of getting the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of his Community Control following his recent drug conviction.

According to Cincinnati-based station WCPO, Rutherford appeared at his hearing wearing a face mask due to the COVID-19 numbers climbing. Wagner then asked him if he was vaccinated and planned on getting vaccinated. Rutherford answered no to both questions.

As a result, Wagner ordered Rutherford to get vaccinated as part of his probation. He has 60 days to get the vaccine.

“I don’t plan on getting it. I don’t want it. So, for him to tell me that I have to get it in order for me to not violate my probation is crazy cause 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,” Rutherford told WCPO.

In a transcript of the hearing, WCPO reported that Wagner said “I’m just a judge, not a doctor, but I think the vaccine’s a lot safer than fentanyl, which is what you had in your pocket.”

In a statement emailed to WCPO, Wagner defended ordering Rutherford to obtain the vaccine.

“The court's responsibility when issuing a community control sanction is to rehabilitate the defendant and protect the community,” Wagner said in the statement. "Judges make decisions regularly regarding a defendant's physical and mental health, such as ordering drug, alcohol, and mental health treatment."