Nude Prosecutor Wants Job Back

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein at 8:00 AM on July 8, 2008.

A former city prosecutor who lost his job for walking around nude at night has won the first round of his battle to get his job back:

HAMILTON - A former city prosecutor who was fired for taking nude after-hours strolls in a public building has won a court victory in his battle to get his job back.

Scott Blauvelt, 36, is entitled to civil-service job protection, Visiting Judge Thomas Nurre ruled in a decision filed June 25 in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

The decision, if it stands, means Blauvelt would be entitled to have a civil service panel consider whether to rehire him.

City Law Director Hillary Stevenson says she disagrees with Nurre's analysis of Blauvelt's job situation and will seek a reversal from the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown.

The saga has been going on since late 2006.

Stevenson fired Blauvelt after security cameras videotaped his naked nighttime walks through the Government Services Center downtown. Blauvelt was then working in that building.

Blauvelt's lawyer, Mike Gmoser, says Blauvelt has overcome the mental problems that fueled his odd behavior, and he's back to work as a criminal defense lawyer in Hamilton.[Cinc Inqu]

Hamilton, OH should give Blauvelt another chance. When the incident occurred, he was suffering from some mental health issues which were causing his eccentric but objectively harmless behavior. It's not even clear that he broke the law.

Now that he's healthy again and functioning normally as a private criminal defense attorney, he deserves the opportunity to prove that he's ready to go back to work for the city.

[Photo by Lord Khan]

Tagged as: law

Lindsay Beyerstein a New York writer blogging at Majikthise.