Smith-Johnston, 49, formerly of Fairfield Twp. but now listed as having a Cincinnati address, was appointed judge in September 2008 by Gov. Ted Strickland to fill the post in West Chester Twp. vacated by Judge Robert Hendrickson, who is now a 12th District Court of Appeals judge.
She was defeated two months later by Judge Dan Haughey.
According to Fairfield police, a 13-year-old boy who was a passenger in a 2005 Honda Odyssey driven by Smith-Johnston was able to get her to pull into the parking lot of Duke Energy on Nilles Road. When Sgt. Lori Cresap arrived, Smith-Johnston and the teen were at the back of the car and the boy had possession of the keys, police said.
“Ms. Smith-Johnston shut the hatch and was stumbling toward the driver’s side of the Honda,” Cresap said in the report. The sergeant said Smith-Johnston smelled strongly of alcohol, her eyes were red and glassy, and her speech was slurred.
When asked for her driver’s license, Smith-Johnston said she didn’t have one, got in the vehicle and began shuffling through items, officers said.
Smith-Johnston ignored requests by the officer to perform field sobriety tests, answered a cell-phone call and told the teen to get in the car with his 8-year-old sister, who was also a passenger, according to the report. When she turned to walk away from the officer, Smith-Johnston was arrested. She was later released to her husband.
According to police, the children in the vehicle driven by Smith-Johnston were friends of the family.
Defense attorney David Washington entered a not-guilty plea for Smith-Johnston on Dec. 28 in Fairfield Municipal Court, where a court date has been set for Jan. 19.
Smith-Johnston could not be reached for comment. Washington declined further comment until he “has all the facts.”
According to the Ohio Supreme Court, Smith-Johnston was admitted to the Bar in Ohio in 1999. Her current work address is a post office box in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming, according to the court’s website.
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