Judge blamed for performing marriage

The Baltimore Sun newspaper reports:

A Baltimore County judge was reassigned Wednesday after he presided over the marriage between a man being prosecuted for domestic violence and the alleged victim - a marriage that led to the man's acquittal.

Baltimore County District Judge G. Darrell Russell Jr. took the unusual step last week of allowing the defendant to leave court to obtain a marriage license and married the couple later in his chambers. About 20 minutes later, his new wife invoked marital privilege so she would not be required to testify against her husband. ...

Michaele Cohen, executive director of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, said she was "appalled" by the judge's conduct, but added that she was pleased that Clyburn "took very swift and appropriate action in this case."

"For [Russell] to intervene in this way, and to basically provide, in a sense, a defense for this man ... it's just so unbelievable," Cohen said. "How could this case be fairly prosecuted when the judge is offering the respondent a way to avoid prosecution?"

Carole Alexander, a clinical instructor at the University of Maryland's School of Social Work and a former executive director of the House of Ruth, a domestic violence shelter, said the disciplinary action against Russell should go further.

So the judge is being punished?!

This shows the twisted thinking of the domestic violence advocates. The man and woman wanted to get married. They had no complaint against each other. And yet some prosecutor does not approve, based on some police report.

The man-hating domestic violence lobby wants men to be prosecuted even when no one is making a complaint. They also want to bust up marriages, and in this case, prevent a marriage.