Man accused of slapping judge in smoking dispute is acquitted of hate crime, battery
A white man accused of spitting on and slapping an elderly African-American judge in Chicago in a dispute over her smoking has been acquitted in a bench trial.
The Cook County judge who acquitted David Nicosia on Wednesday, Judge James Obbish, said he didn’t believe Nicosia would have been charged with the felony charges of aggravated battery and a hate crime if the alleged victim hadn’t been a judge, report the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.
The alleged victim, Judge Arnette Hubbard, is currently 81. The incident occurred in July 2014 at Daley Plaza, outside the courthouse where Nicosia planned to get married. The wedding plans were put on hold after the arrest.
Obbish said Hubbard should have moved when Nicosia complained. Obbish added that he wasn’t awarding any medals to Nicosia, who “didn’t act in a way that a man should act to a lady,” according to the newspaper account of his remarks.
Hubbard testified she was smoking near a garbage can when Nicosia complained about her smoking. Hubbard said she explained that she couldn’t smoke indoors, and then Nicosia spit in her face and yelled, “Rosa Parks, move.”
Hubbard said she waved to deputies and tried to stop Nicosia from leaving. He flung her off and slapped her, Hubbard testified.
Nicosia, on the other hand, said Hubbard blew smoke in his face after he complained, and she said she could smoke where she wanted. He says he replied, “It’s not like you’re the Rosa Parks of smoking.”
At that point, Nicosia says, Hubbard informed him she had “something for him” and spit a tobacco-laced “goober” at him, which ended up in his mouth, on his glasses and on his shirt. He said he spit back at Hubbard to get the goober out of his mouth. “It was disgusting,” he said.
Nicosia said the slap was accidental, and he was simply reacting when Hubbard came toward him.
Hubbard has filed a civil lawsuit that is pending against Nicosia.
