Judge Kobly to defendant: Court is not social services agency; help yourself

YOUNGSTOWN

Clifford Anderson says he knows he has a drinking problem and asked municipal court Judge Elizabeth Kobly to help him.

Anderson, who was being sentenced Thursday on two counts of assault for kicking a woman in a wheelchair and fracturing six of her ribs, said drinking makes him do things he normally would not do.

“It’s been hard trying to do it [quit drinking] by myself,” Anderson said. “I’m not a very bad person. I just made some bad decisions because of alcohol.”

Anderson, 32, was given a six-month jail sentence with credit for 46 days served and another six months was suspended and will be imposed only if he violates terms of his two-year probation. While he is on probation, he will be assessed for alcohol counseling and will be required to attend anger-management classes. He has prior domestic-violence convictions.

“There’s nowhere on this building that says it’s a social-services agency,” Judge Kobly said. “Thirty-two years old and you want me to get you help? That’s not how this works.”

Read more about his case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.