Ohio judge returns fire after being ambushed; attacker dead

Media outlets around the country are reporting that Jefferson County, Ohio Common Pleas Judge Joseph J. Bruzzese Jr. was able to protect his own life by using his concealed handgun to return fire after being ambushed outside the courthouse in Steubenville on Monday.

His assailant was eventually shot dead by a nearby probation officer. Another man who was accompanying the attacker is currently in custody.

From WTOV (NBC Steubenville):

“We’re starting to put this whole picture together, but basically what you have is the judge is going to work, these subjects were waiting for them. He comes up, shoots at the judge. The judge returns fire,” [Steubenville City Manager James] Mavromatis said. “We also have a probation officer that was behind the judge. He returns fire as he is shot at. The subject is deceased that he shot at.

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Witnesses said they heard multiple gunshots.

"My alarm went off at 8 a.m., and I snoozed it, and a minute or two later, I heard approximately seven or eight gunshots, and I went to look out the window and I seen somebody in a white shirt, probably a detective, kneeling down firing at something, and that’s when I knew something happened down here," witness Cody Allison said.

News agencies across the country have picked up the story, but many headlines have neglected to mention that the judge was armed and ready to fight back when attacked. One of the few who did note this fact in their headline was the New York Times, in a piece entitled "Ohio Judge Returns Fire After He Is Ambushed on Way to Court":

The authorities identified one of the suspects as Nathaniel Richmond, the father of a local high school football player who was convicted of rape in a high-profile trial in 2013....

The other suspect, who has not been identified, was taken into custody.

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The judge was airlifted to a hospital in Pittsburgh in stable condition and was expected to survive.

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Both suspects, whose names have not been released, have criminal records with prison time...

According to coverage by FOX News, courthouse video shows Bruzzese firing about five shots at Richmond, who was then fatally shot by a probation officer:

Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor said the attack is a reminder of the real potential for violence against judges, and urged court employees to take extra precautions in both personal and professional activites. She added that violence against judges is an attack on the rule of law.

In 2011, Lake County Common Pleas Judge Eugene A. Lucci wrote a legal article entitled "Judges and Concealed Carry of Handguns," suggesting judges have legal authority to carry guns and should be armed at all times.

While the murder of judges is rare, judges are threatened daily by inappropriate communications, approaches, and even physical attacks. Many judges throughout the country, alarmed and fearful after recent courthouse shootings and attacks upon judges and their families at home, are taking their safety into their own hands.

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While the protection provided by any courthouse security personnel ends at the courthouse door, the threat to the safety of the judge does not. The scope of a judge’s duty also extends beyond the courthouse and the normal hours of operation of the courthouse. The threat does not magically evaporate when the judge removes the robe and walks out the door of the courthouse. Indeed, the stronger the security measures inside the courthouse, the more likely the exposure and risk to the judge will be relocated outside the courthouse.

The judge must take responsibility for his or her own safety. This means developing and implementing a security plan and practicing the plan. While most courts and judges have made plans for safety and security inside the courthouse, rarely is much thought given to judicial protection in the courthouse after hours, or outside the courthouse, in the parking lot, driving home, and at home, for the judge and his or her family.

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A common pleas judge can authorize himself or herself to carry a concealed handgun for defensive purposes at all times in this state. The legal authority for such a decision lies in the inherent judicial power reasonably required to enable a court to perform its judicial functions efficiently, and to protect its existence, dignity, independence, and integrity. The authority for such a decision is also a corollary to the concept of separation of powers, and it ensures that judicial decisions will be free of the inappropriate influences of fear, coercion, and intimidation, as well as from personal, political, cultural, and economic influences. The authority secondarily lies in the statutes governing concealed carry of handguns, R. C. 2923.12(C)(1) and R.C. 2923.123(C)(1).

In 2014, media outlets called a decision by judges on the 4th District Ohio Court of Appeals to authorize themselves to carry concealed handguns both in and outside the 14 county courthouses where they conduct sessions "controversial." The Cleveland Plain Dealer even went so far as to dig up two cases where judges had been charged with crimes as reason why judges' right to bear arms for self-defense should be called into question.

At the time, Buckeye Firearms Association President Jim Irvine told the Columbus Dispatch he has no problem with judges arming themselves, in court and out, without obtaining concealed-carry licenses.

"If judges want to carry, that's great," Irvine told The Dispatch. "Their job is unique. Maybe more judges should do that."

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.