Ethics Complaint Charges NJ Municipal Judge With Touting Position During DWI Arrest
A municipal court judge in New Jersey is charged with trying to use the power of his office to talk his way out of a drunken driving charge.
January 25, 2018 at 05:45 PM
3 minute read
A municipal court judge in New Jersey won acquittal in the drunken driving case against him, but he's now charged by ethics authorities with trying to use the power of his office to talk his way out of the arrest.
The state Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct filed the complaint on Wednesday against Wilfredo Benitez, who was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1993 and currently sits as a part-time judge in East Orange and Belleville.
According to the ACJC complaint, Benitez, a Newark solo, was arrested on Nov. 12, 2016, by State Troopers Justin Kearns and Danny Kim, who found Benitez asleep in the driver's seat on Interstate 80 west in Teaneck.
Benitez's eyes were bloodshot and watery, and the troopers could detect the odor of alcohol, the ACJC complaint says.
Kearns asked Benitez whether he had been drinking or taking drugs.
“Not at all, sir,” Benitez replied, according to the ACJC complaint.
The troopers allegedly had Benitez perform several roadside sobriety tests, and he was then charged with drunken driving.
While he was being handcuffed, the complaint alleges, Benitez began to object.
“I mean what are you trying to do? I'm a judge,” he said, according to the complaint.
“You're wasting your time. You know you are. You're not going to give me courtesy? You know you're being a dick. I will fucking fight you,” the complaint quotes Benitez as saying.
A Bergen County Superior Court judge, who was not identified in the complaint, eventually found Benitez not guilty on the drunken driving charge, the ACJC said.
Nevertheless, the ACJC filed a complaint alleging Benitez violated ethics rules by citing his position as a judge during the traffic stop. The ACJC said Benitez violated Canon 1 of the Code of Judicial Conduct by using profanity in front of the troopers, thus impugning the integrity of the judiciary; and Canon 2 by creating the appearance of impropriety, and by using the prestige of his office to advance his private interests.
Benitez has not yet filed an answer to the complaint, and he did not return a call seeking comment.
The complaint will be heard by the ACJC at a yet-undetermined date. Whether Benitez will be subject to disciplinary action, or have the complaint dismissed, is to be determined by the state Supreme Court.
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