Judge pleads innocent to drunken driving

Lisotto's blood-alcohol level was 0.081, police say.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- A judge from Mahoning County Common Pleas Court has pleaded innocent to drunken-driving charges.
Judge Robert Lisotto is charged with two counts of driving under the influence, as well as failure to signal. They are the judge's first drunken-driving charges.
Judge Lisotto, 57, of Topaz Circle, was arraigned Wednesday night in county court in Canfield and released on his own recognizance. His pretrial hearing is set for Oct. 15.
If convicted, Judge Lisotto can be sentenced to three days in jail, fined $1,000 and have his license suspended for three years. The charges are not felonies, so the judge can't be removed from the bench if convicted.
When reached at home today, the judge had no comment. The judge's attorney is Don L. Hanni Jr. of Youngstown.
What police report says
Here are Canfield police accounts of what occurred:
A truck driver told police that a blue Ford Expedition, a sport utility vehicle driven by Judge Lisotto, was weaving and may have hit a guardrail about 1:15 a.m. Wednesday on East Main Street near Hillside Drive.
Police pulled behind the SUV on North Hillside Drive and followed him as he turned onto Neff Drive without signaling. The judge also crossed the center line of North Broad Street.
An officer eventually turned on his cruiser's overhead lights and tried to pull the judge over on North Broad Street.
Reports say Judge Lisotto continued to drive and made a wide turn onto Herbert Road, going off the asphalt. He then pulled back onto the road before stopping, about a quarter of a mile after the officer first turned on his cruiser's overhead lights.
The officer said Judge Lisotto appeared to fall out of the SUV when he was asked to get out and walk back to the cruiser. When asked why he did not pull over after the cruiser's overhead lights had been turned on, the judge said there had been a car between the cruiser and his SUV, according to police.
Police said that there was no car between the cruiser and the SUV and that Lisotto slurred his speech and smelled slightly of alcohol.
Judge Lisotto told police that he had not been drinking.
Given sobriety tests
Police said the judge failed several field sobriety tests; he had difficulty standing with his feet together and he couldn't walk heel to toe.
Judge Lisotto again told police that he hadn't been drinking and that he was on his way home from eating dinner at a restaurant across from Boardman High School about 9:30 p.m. Police said that when the judge was asked what time it was, he answered that it was just after midnight and that he was tired.
Judge Lisotto suggested that police follow him home. He was told by police that he would not be allowed to drive and he was given a breath test.
Police said the test showed Lisotto's blood alcohol level was 0.081; the legal limit is 0.08.
He was cited for drunken driving and released to his wife.
Judge Lisotto has served as a common pleas court judge since 1996. He was re-elected in November 2002.
In January 2002, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a public reprimand against the judge for accepting free football tickets from an attorney. Ethics rules prohibit judges from accepting gifts from lawyers who have cases pending before them.
hill@vindy.com