Marriage of Convenience? Baltimore Judge Reassigned After Stopping Trial to Marry Alleged Abuser to His Victim
jonathanturley
Baltimore County District Court Judge Darrell Russell Jr. is under intense criticism this week after he stopped a non-jury trial to perform a wedding ceremony in his chambers for defendant Frederick Wood and his girlfriend. They then promptly invoked spousal immunity in the domestic violence case to prevent the state from calling the wife to testify against her newly minted husband. Russell has been reassigned to reviewing motions in civil cases in chambers pending investigation.
At the end of the trial (which effectively ended when the couple were married), the judge added “I found you not guilty, so I can’t sentence you as a defendant in any crimes, but earlier today, I sentenced you to life married to her.”
For the audio recording of the hearing, click here.
