Trenton, New Jersey - Ethics complaint filed against Supreme Court judge
(AP) - 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."
McMoran said Rivera-Soto plans to file a response to the complaint after receiving
evidence from the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, which issued the complaint.
That committee could then hold a hearing before sending its findings to the Supreme Court, which could also decide to hear oral arguments.
The alleged misconduct stemmed from a series of incidents last fall between Rivera-Soto's son, a sophomore, and a senior who was the captain of the Haddonfield Memorial High School team. The justice's son said the other teen harassed or struck him, according to the complaint.
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.
By alluding to his judicial position, Rivera-Soto "used or allowed the power and prestige of his office ... to influence or advance the private interests of his family and his son," the judicial conduct panel found.
The complaint does not specify who brought the matter to the attention of the judicial conduct panel.
Retrieved May 13, 2007 from http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070511/FRONT01/70511022