Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giuduice regularly vaped during his trials — including the murder trial of “Brooklyn Butcher” Daniel St. Hubert.
“Everyone knows, just doesn't say anything,” said a court official.
Del Giudice calmly puffed on an e-cigarette during St. Hubert’s trial for the 2014 murder of Prince Joshua “PJ” Avitto and the serious injury of 7-year-old Mikayle Capers in an East New York housing project.
Sitting in a chair, Mr. Del Giudice pretended to stroke his beard, but the small blue light glowing in his clenched palm revealed that he was secretly using an electronic cigarette device .
The judge's actions have angered lawyers, who say they are unprofessional and violate a 2017 law banning vaping in non-smoking areas.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to do that in a public building, or on the bench,” said a lawyer who worked long before Mr. Del Giudice but was not involved in the Butcher case.
Another lawyer said, “The only reason I can't be a judge is because I can't smoke on the bench.”
Smoking or vaping in the courtroom is a violation of state environmental protection laws, according to the state health department, and violators face fines of up to $2,000.
Mr. Del Giudice was sitting in his chair after the fourth day of the trial when reporters arrived.
He held an e-cigarette in his mouth and asked the reporter what was going on. The reporter pointed at his device and said, “I was hoping to interview you about this.”
The judge quickly put his device away.
“No comment,” he kept saying.
* The main title photo is of him sitting in the courtroom vaping.
Source: Kevin Fasick - Nypost.com
Translated by: The Vape Club
