Amid Email Ethics Flap, Former Camden Prosecutor Sues Judge, City
A former Camden municipal prosecutor, who was on the receiving end of a series of allegedly "discourteous and undignified emails" from the city's chief judge, is suing the judge and the city, claiming the incident caused her to leave her job.
August 10, 2018 at 04:05 PM
5 minute read
A former Camden municipal prosecutor, who was on the receiving end of a series of allegedly “discourteous and undignified emails” from the city's chief judge, is suing the judge and the city, claiming the incident caused her to leave her job.
The former prosecutor, Kristina Bryant, filed the lawsuit against Chief Municipal Court Judge Christine Jones-Tucker and the city on Thursday in Camden County Superior Court.
Jones-Tucker already has been hit with an ethics complaint from the state Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct in connection with the incident, but has denied violating any ethics rules.
According to documents, the emails in question were sent in late 2016, when Bryant was seeking to have a February 2017 trial date postponed.
The emails and the repercussions, Bryant said in her lawsuit, affected her so much that she was forced to leave her job in January 2017.
“Plaintiff enjoyed a good reputation, both generally and in her profession as an attorney, including when she was employed by the municipality in September 2016 until January 2017,” said her attorney, Craig Mitnick, in the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges harassment, tortious interference with contract, defamation and creation of a hostile work environment.
Bryant has “suffered irreparable harm to her reputation and was no longer able to perform her job as numerous law enforcement officers from various departments questioned Ms. Bryant … as to what she did wrong and questioned her credibility,” said Mitnick, who heads a firm in Haddonfield.
“Plaintiff has suffered shame, mortification, loss of personal and professional reputation, loss of employment and related benefits and injury to her feelings,” the suit claims.
Mitnick was away from his office and unavailable for comment.
The city's chief attorney, Michelle Banks-Spearman, said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
Jones-Tucker does not deny that the email exchanges occurred, but contends that she remained within the bounds of judicial ethics strictures and never lied about the exchanges. In her answer to the ACJC complaint she filed last month, her attorney, Carl Poplar, said: “At all times … Respondent established, maintained and enforced the highest standards of conduct” and “was patient, dignified and courteous.” The answer added: “The Respondent at no time made any knowing misrepresentation.”
The ACJC's views the episode differently. The July 11 complaint alleges that Jones-Tucker violated several Canons of Judicial Conduct.
Poplar, who heads a firm in Cherry Hill, declined to comment on Bryant's lawsuit.
Jones-Tucker has been the city's chief judge since August 2016.
The charges, filed by ACJC counsel Maureen Bauman, largely center on a series of emails Jones-Tucker allegedly sent to Bryant about a trial date for a man named Derek Heimstra, who was charged with driving while intoxicated, according to documents. Heimstra was represented by John Sitzler of Sitzler & Sitzler in Hainesport.
The emails in question primarily occurred on Dec. 30 and 31, 2016, when Bryant was asking to have a February 2017 trial date postponed because of a problem with witnesses. The trial date had been rescheduled once before. Jones-Tucker, the ACJC said, then sent Bryant a series of emails starting at 10:54 p.m. on New Year's Eve, saying that rescheduling was a “complete waste of court resources.”
“Get with the program,” the ACJC complaint quotes Jones-Tucker as saying. There were other emails from Jones-Tucker up until 11:09 p.m., the complaint alleged. “Not a game,” the ACJC also quotes the judge as saying. “Not a game. This is the date. Not a game,” Jones-Tucker said. Jones-Tucker also said, “Sick of this. Respect for the city [of] Camden. Respect for our court,” according to the document.
On New Year's Day 2017, Bryant, the complaint said, sent an email to City Attorney Marc Riondino, saying she found the emails “condescending and disrespectful.” On Jan. 2, the complaint said, Jones-Tucker sent an email to Bryant affirming the trial date and added: “This is it [sic] a game. … Respect for this court. Respect for this city.”
Sitzler appeared before Jones-Tucker on Jan. 6, 2017, to inquire about a firm trial date. He apparently had learned of the emails between Jones-Tucker and Bryant, and asked the judge about them since he had never been copied. “I'm not sure what emails you're referring to,” the ACJC complaint quotes Jones-Tucker as saying.
Afterward, the ACJC alleges, Jones-Tucker said the Heimstra case would be reassigned, and then notified Riondino in an email that she would no longer hear cases involving Bryant.
The ACJC charged that Jones-Tucker “demonstrated a lack of veracity and an inability to conform her conduct to the high standards of conduct expected of judges and impugned the integrity of the judiciary.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllDOJ: TD Bank Agrees to Pay $3B Over Anti-Money Laundering Program Violations
2 minute readClass Action Lawsuit Targets 40 Private Colleges and Universities Over Alleged Price-Fixing
3 minute readWave of Office Closures Highlights the Weighty Stakes Surrounding Law Firm Growth
7 minute readSLIDESHOW: Associate Justice John Jay Hoffman Takes Seat on New Jersey Supreme Court
1 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250