City Judge Is Reprimanded for Doubling as Prosecutor in Case

Michael Booth, New Jersey Law Journal
January 27, 2014, 02:01 PM

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday reprimanded a former municipal court judge for denying two men public defenders in a criminal trial while at the same time stepping into the role of prosecutor.

In disciplining former Linden Judge Louis DiLeo, the unanimous court adopted a new standard for imposing punishment on judges when their conduct on the bench runs awry: where a "reasonably prudent and competent judge" would consider the conduct "obviously and seriously wrong in all circumstances."

DiLeo denied requests by two defendants to be represented by public defenders in a theft case and also conducted the case without prosecutor present. Instead, he took on the prosecutor's role, examining the arresting officer, cross-examining the defendants and using the testimony he elicited to find the defendants not credible.


Read more: http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202640127492/City-Judge-Is-Reprimanded-for-Doubling-as-Prosecutor-in-Case#ixzz2rdGDPnSA