I-Team: Judge explains why he ordered man to get COVID vaccine

A Hamilton County judge defended ordering a probationer to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot by comparing the order to court-mandated drug treatment and mental health counseling as conditions of probation.

"The court's responsibility when issuing a community control sanction is to rehabilitate the defendant and protect the community," wrote Judge Christopher Wagner in a statement emailed Friday to the WCPO 9 I-Team.

"Judges make decisions regularly regarding a defendant's physical and mental health, such as ordering drug, alcohol, and mental health treatment."