Camden Co. Judge Who Admitted Ignorance Should Get Reprimanded, Not Removed: Committee

CAMDEN, NJ — A Camden County judge who compared his lack of knowledge to a ninth-grader's shouldn't face discipline besides a public reprimand, an advisory committee announced Wednesday. But the committee says Judge Michael J. Kassel undermined the public's confidence in the courts when he repeatedly admitted ignorance and lack of preparation on matters associated with his temporary assignment to family court.

Kassel has been a judge in the New Jersey Superior Court of Camden County since 2001, primarily assigned to the Civil Division. Amid a judge shortage across the state, he was temporarily re-assigned to preside over family-law cases for two months in 2021.

The judge repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the assignment, telling litigants more than a dozen times that he lacked expertise in family law, according to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct — a branch of government that investigates and prosecutes judicial misconduct. He compared his involvement in one case to that of a cardiologist seeing his first patient and told parties to "treat (him) like (he's) a ninth grader," the committee says.

Kassel also appeared without his robe and propped his feet up on the desk in front of him. In one case, the judge also ruled in favor of a party represented by an attorney who, as a prosecutor, moved to dismiss Kassel's drunk-driving charge 11 years prior, the committee says.

Kassel's temporary assignment came amid a yearslong judge shortage throughout New Jersey that worsened during the pandemic. As of February, 1 in 6 trial courts stayed vacant throughout the state, prompting the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court to suspend civil and divorce trials in six counties. Read more: Divorce, Civil Trials Suspended In 6 NJ Counties Amid Judge Shortage

The advisory committee examined a four-count complaint against Kassel filed in April 2022. The committee shared its investigative findings

The first two counts of the complaint maintain that Kassel inappropriately criticized his court assignment, failed to remain professionally competent, and failed to maintain decorum. The committee determined that those charges should stand.

However, the committee says the third and fourth counts — relating to the case involving the potential conflict of interest — should get dropped. Since Kassel's DWI case was 11 years ago and there's no indication that he maintained a relationship with that attorney, the committee says it lacks enough evidence to prove a conflict of interest.

The committee merely recommended a public reprimand against Kassel. While the governing body found his conduct "grossly inappropriate," the committee recognized Kassel's 20 years on the bench and his acknowledgement that he "could have and should have worked harder to prepare for and understand" family law.

Nonetheless, the 23-page document of investigative findings outlines several incidents of questionable behavior from Kassel when he presided over family court.

On 16 separate occasions, Kassel told parties in court that he lacked familiarity with their case, was ignorant of the law in family-court matters, and expressed dissatisfaction with the temporary assignment, the document states. Kassel frequently added that he would "do his best" and request to be "walked through the motions" on fundamental legal matters.

He even advised litigants to resolve their case in mediation because of his lack of knowledge in family law.

"Frankly, you can get a guy off the street that's more experienced than me in this stuff," he said, according to the committee.

Kassel also repeatedly referenced his personal life while presiding, stating that his divorced parents worked out visitation without court involvement. He characterized the court proceedings before him as akin to permitting "a stranger that may be more dysfunctional" to decide their fate, the document states.

In 2010, Kassel was charged with driving while intoxicated. The prosecutor motioned to dismiss his charge after Kassel tested negative for alcohol and illegal drugs. Eleven years later, that attorney represented the defense in a family-court case before Kassel.

"I don't disqualify myself in (the defense attorney's) cases," Kassel said in court. "I happen to like him, all right."

After the plaintiff's attorney brought up concerns about the potential conflict of interest, Kassel opted to adjourn the matter based on the impression of potential bias. But before adjourning, Kassel entered an interim parenting-time order that the defense attorney requested, the committee says.

Under state law, a judge would need to disqualify themselves whenever their impartiality might "reasonably" get questioned. But Kassel instead opted to adjourn the proceeding because of an "unstated concern" from the plaintiff's lawyer.

"We trust that (Kassel), moving forward, will refrain from employing rhetoric like that which has been described above when addressing court users and members of the bar," the committee said.