Test results show judge had twice the legal limit of alcohol in system
Franklin County Republicans ask Hawkins to resign.
A Franklin COLUMBUS —
County judge had more than twice the level of alcohol at which Ohioans are considered impaired in her system when she was arrested for drunken driving on Jan. 31.
Domestic Relations/Juvenile Court Judge Monica Hawkins had a blood alcohol level of .199, more than twice the limit of .08 percent, according to test results released by Pickerington Police.
Hawkins had been pulled over on the evening of Jan. 31 after another driver reported an erratic driver. Hawkins failed several field sobriety tests and refused to take a breath test at the time of her arrest.
Pickerington Police, who pulled Hawkins over, obtained a search warrant for a blood sample.
Hawkins resisted the blood draw, according to police reports, requiring five people to hold her down. Hawkins then continued to bend her arm to make it difficult for the needle to be inserted.
Hawkins had been charged with operating a vehicle while impaired, obstruction of official business and a marked lane violation as a result of the traffic stop. She entered a guilty plea to the OVI charge, with the obstruction charge being dismissed, in Fairfield County Municipal Court last week.
Hawkins is required as part of her sentence to undergo a threeday treatment program, pay a $375 fine and have a oneyear driver’s license suspension with privileges to travel to specific locations.
The blood test results have no legal impact for Hawkins because the case was already resolved.
Hawkins’ attorney in the case, Brad Koffel, had said prior to her entry of a plea that she suffered a serious concussion at some point in the evening of Jan. 31 prior to her being pulled over.
Koffel did not mention the concussion during Hawkins’ court hearing.
The Franklin County Republican Party has asked Hawkins, a Democrat, to resign because she has been convicted of a crime. Because the charge she was convicted of is a misdemeanor, there is no requirement that she vacate her judge’s seat, which she was sworn into in January.
The Ohio Supreme Court, the body which oversees judges, could take action against Hawkins.