Posted on 05/21/2007 2:35:00 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
NEWARK, N.J. -- A state panel on judicial conduct on Friday filed an ethics complaint against New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto, charging that he improperly allowed the "power and prestige" of his position to help his son in a dispute with another teen on their high school football team.
If the six other justices on the state's highest court substantiate the complaint, they could remove Rivera-Soto from the bench or impose a lesser penalty, including a public reprimand, censure or suspension.
Rivera-Soto, the first Hispanic on the state Supreme Court, denies any wrongdoing, said his lawyer, Bruce P. McMoran.
"He acted as a father would act, and we don't think he did anything wrong," McMoran said.
The complaint charged that Rivera-Soto violated a court rule barring conduct "that brings the judicial office into disrepute," and three aspects of the Canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct, including one that "requires judges to avoid lending the prestige of their office to advance the private interests of others."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
Ping.
Our former AG used her position to get her boyfriend out of a ticket.
This is just S.O.P.
Did you read the entire article? I did, and I don’t see that the judge did anything wrong. Unless there are additional facts, I think this is a waster of time.
The school warned the other teen but took no other action. Rivera-Soto spoke several times to school officials, once telling the team coach that in his field "he is called upon to make 'critical assessments' based upon 'who has more to lose,"' the complaint said.
On Sept. 28, Rivera-Soto's son had his mouth hurt during practice when he and the other teen butted heads. The vice principal determined the incident was an accident. Rivera-Soto told the vice principal he was dissatisfied with how the official handled the matter and if no action were taken he would get state police involved and file a complaint.
That evening, Rivera-Soto called Haddonfield Police Chief Richard Tsonis on the chief's cell phone and said no one at the school was doing anything about an assault on his son. When a detective came to Rivera-Soto's home that night, the justice gave him his business card that named his office. The justice signed an assault complaint against the senior at police headquarters, the complaint said.
The next morning, Rivera-Soto alluded to his post during a call to School Superintendent Joseph O'Brien. The justice also spoke to the ranking judge at the Camden County Courthouse, Superior Court Judge Francis J. Orlando, and asked that the matter be treated no differently than any other, the complaint said.
Rivera-Soto made the same request of Camden County Acting Prosecutor James P. Lynch that day, but also "asked the prosecutor to make certain that his complaint received attention," the complaint said.
In November, the justice complained to several court officials when he and his son arrived for a hearing but found it had been postponed. The matter was settled after a hearing Dec. 15, with agreement that the complaint would be dismissed if the teens had no further exchanges until June 19. The school agreed to prevent future "verbal and physical interactions," the complaint said.
I don't think he did anything wrong.
This hardly warrants removal from the bench of this guy, based on what is in the article. I would hope they impose one of the lesser penalties.
I didn’t read it. (food on the stove).
What case is he involved with? Is someone trying to pressure him to lean a certain way? (speculating)
Or were you being sarcastic, as in, this is the way things are done in NJ?
What did he do to deserve any penalty.
His sophmore son was being harrassed by a senior. He took the steps tp try to end it, especially since the school wasn’t doing anything. He did mention his position to some of these people, but I don’t see any evidence it was done in an inappropriate way.
Thank you for the summary!
I wonder if he is being pressured for other reasons then. huh.
Appreciate it.
Address your concerns to LilAngel. She asked me to post this as a favor.
The judge then talked to school officials about it, then followed proper legal channels when he was dissatisfied with the school response. If you take about the part where he's a judge, he did exactly as any father would do - at least any father who bothered with proper legal channels.
His son gets banged up on the football field and he calls the local prosecutor and tells him to make sure that his son's case gets taken care of?
Here is the quote:
Rivera-Soto made the same request of Camden County Acting Prosecutor James P. Lynch that day, but also "asked the prosecutor to make certain that his complaint received attention," the complaint said.
I would say that crosses the line of using the power of your office for personal reasons. He also called the Chief of Police at home, on his cell phone, in the evening. How did he get that number and why did he call him at home? If that was all he did, I would give him a pass, but also calling the prosecutor? He deserves some reprimand, a mild one I would say.
bump
I bet you would feel differently if your son was the senior and the Judge was calling the local prosecutor, directing him to make sure that the case against your son was being handled properly.
Maybe next year his son should go out for the tennis team.
Not so much sleeze and abuse of power, this is a guy who needs to find better problem solving skills. Getting angry enough to throw your weight around when your son gets in a dispute doesn’t help the child.
Tell that to LilAngel and the ethics panel. I tend to agree with you.
I have a little boy. I would help my son first and then worry about my job later.
I think the guy's guilty of turning his boy into a sissy, but other than that...perhaps someone was intimidated by his hysterical "do you know who I am?" posturing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.