Judge Rejects Request to Retry Airline Smoker

A federal judge rejected a prosecutor’s bid Thursday to put a smoker on trial a third time on charges that he assaulted an airline flight attendant who ordered him to douse his cigarette. “I think your office has a whole lot more serious cases to spend its time on,” U.S. District Judge David Williams said. Hes granted a defense motion to acquit James Tabacca of Studio City on charges that he interfered with the duties of a flight attendant after smoking was unexpectedly banned aboard a TWA flight in 1987.

A federal jury deadlocked last week 7 to 5 in favor of convicting Tabacca on the charges. Tabacca was convicted in a first trial in 1988 but the verdict was overturned because of a technicality.