'Close Your Legs,' NJ Judge Told Sex Assault Victim: Complaint

TRENTON, NJ — An Ocean County Superior Court judge who allegedly asked a sexual assault victim if she knew she could close her legs to prevent someone from having sex with her has been accused of judicial conduct violations in a formal complaint filed against him in state Supreme Court.

Judge John F. Russo Jr. is accused of violating seven judicial conduct rules in the complaint filed Monday by the state Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct.

According the complaint, Russo asked a sexual assault victim seeking a final restraining order if she knew how to prevent herself from "having intercourse," suggesting "Close your legs" was one of the solutions. In another case, he is accused of calling a mother outside of a court hearing and threatening to fine her if she did not follow through with a court-ordered paternity test on her child.

The formal complaint, signed by Disciplinary Counsel Maureen G. Baumann, follows an investigation into complaints about Russo's behavior on the bench, which also resulted him being put on in paid leave in April 2017 after he refused a mental health evaluation.

"There have been several incidents in which Judge Russo made threatening or bizarre statements; exhibited explosive fits of rage; lacked appropriate courtroom demeanor or reasonable legal competence in the field of law assigned to him, and otherwise exhibited extreme emotional immaturity," Ocean County Assignment Judge Marlene Lynch Ford wrote in a certification last fall.

Russo, who is assigned to Family Court, has remained on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation, according to an Asbury Park Press report.

Russo must answer the complaint, which will then be scheduled for a hearing before the Advisory Committee, which then makes a recommendation to the state Supreme Court of what, if any, public discipline should be imposed on a judge. The New Jersey Supreme Court is the only body that can publicly discipline a judge, according to the state courts website.

The complaint accuses Russo of violating seven judicial codes:

• Canon 1, Rule l .1, which requires judges to observe high standards of conduct so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved;
• Canon 2, Rule 2.1, which requires judges to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety and to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary;
• Canon 2, Rule 2.3 (A}, which requires judges to avoid lending the prestige of judicial office to advance personal or economic interests;
• Canon 3, Rule 3. l 7(B), which requires judges to disqualify themselves in proceedings in which their impartiality or the appearance of their impartiality might reasonably be questioned;
• Canon 3, Rule 3 .5, which requires judges to be patient, dignified, and courteous to litigants, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and others with whom the judge deals in an official capacity;
• Canon 3, Rule 3.8, which prohibits a judge from initiating ex parte communications concerning a pending or impending proceeding;
• New Jersey Court Rule 1:12-l(g), which requires judges to disqualify themselves in proceedings in which their impartiality or the appearance of their impartiality might reasonably be questioned.

He is also accused of failing to recuse himself from the divorce proceedings of a couple where he personally knew both the husband and wife.

In response to the suspension, Russo has filed a workplace discrimination lawsuit against Ford and Superior Court Judges Madelin F. Einbinder and Wendel E. Daniels, claiming he has been treated unfairly because he has a disabled son.

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