Former Harford County Council President Robert Wagner will wait to stand trial for charges of drunk driving until a judge from outside the county can be brought in to hear the case.
Wagner?s lawyer Augustus Brown said Friday a “visiting judge” from another court system will ensure that Wagner receives an “impartial” trial.
Wagner, 49, was charged on Oct. 16 with three counts of a drinking and driving offense after witnesses from a senior retirement center saw him stumbling out of his truck, according to charging documents. Police said Wagner had been visiting relative who lived at the facility and that he admitted to drinking vodka that morning.
In cases “where there might be a familiarity between the defendant and the court, the court will recuse itself,” said Arthur Ford, chief administrative clerk at the District Court of Maryland in Bel Air. Wagner?s case was postponed on Dec. 5, Ford said.
Ford said Harford?s chief district court Judge Victor Butanis decided, given Wagner?s political prominence, a visiting judge should hear the case.
“Right now, it?s a matter of getting [Brown], a courtroom and a visiting judge who are available on the same day,” Ford said. “We like to get these cases dispersed within about 90 days.”
In last September?s primaries, Wagner lost a bid for the Republican nomination for County Council President to Darlington horse farmer Billy Boniface after a 16-year presence on Harford?s legislative body. At the time of Wagner?s arrest, County Council officials said he did not take the defeat well.
