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The Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct has filed a formal complaint against Municipal Court Judge Guy Killen who continued to sit on the bench and to practice law while ineligible for failing to maintain interest-bearing trust accounts (IOLTA) and professional liability insurance, as required of all practicing attorneys and law firms in the state.

Killen has been a member of the bar and a practicing attorney since 1981. He operated his law office as Guy W. Killen, P.C. in Woodbury.

He served as a part-time judge in Vineland Municipal Court, a position he held until he was suspended from his judicial duties by order of Superior Court Judge Benjamin Telsey, effective May 14, 2018. The suspension remained in effect until June 5, 2018.

Killen could not be immediately reached at his law office for comment.

The complaint, filed June 14 and signed by ACJC disciplinary counsel Maureen G. Bauman, charged Killen with several violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

On the first count, any attorney admitted to practice law in New Jersey must maintain IOLTA, into which all sums received on behalf of clients are deposited. Killen is charged with failing to maintain such accounts, which resulted in his inclusion on a list of attorneys who, by Supreme Court order, are deemed ineligible to practice law until they submit the required trust account forms to the IOLTA fund trustee.

According to the complaint, the state Supreme Court, pursuant to Rule 1:28A-2(d), entered an order, effective Oct. 20, 2017, declaring Killen to be administratively ineligible to practice law based on his noncompliance with the mandatory IOLTA program.

Killen appeared in court on behalf of clients and continued to sit as a municipal court judge in Vineland during the period of IOLTA ineligibility, according to the complaint.

In March 2018, the Office of Attorney Ethics filed its own complaint against Killen, charging him with failing to comply with the requirements of the IOLTA program, which resulted in Killen being administratively ineligible to practice law.

In his answer to the OAE complaint and at a Dec. 5, 2018, hearing, Killen admitted that he failed to comply with IOLTA program requirements, according to the ACJC document.

The June 14 ACJC complaint states, “by [Killen's] conduct in practicing law and sitting as a municipal court judge in Vineland from Oct. 17, 2017 to March 29, 2018, when respondent was administratively ineligible to practice law based on his failure to comply with IOLTA requirements as per Rule 1:28A, et seq., respondent violated Canon 1, Rule 1.1 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which requires judges to observe high standards of conduct so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved.”

Killen also violated Rule 1.2 of the same code, “which requires judges to respect and comply with the law,” the ACJC said.

On or about March 29, 2018, Killen satisfied the requirement of compliance with IOLTA by submitting the proper registration forms to the IOLTA fund, said the ACJC.

On the second violation, the ACJC noted that each professional corporation operating in the state must file a certificate of insurance with the clerk of the Supreme Court within 30 days after filing its certificate of corporation. Killen never did this, violating both Rule 1:21-1A(b) and Rule 1:21-1A(a)(3), the complaint said.

Killen was cited for his failure to maintain professional liability insurance for the firm that he operated as a professional corporation. Thus, he also violated Canon 2, Rule 2.1 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, “which requires judges to promote public confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the Judiciary,” the ACJC said.

Killen admitted to the additional infractions in his response to the March 29, 2018, OAE complaint, the ACJC noted.

The complaint also charges that Killen's conduct violated New Jersey Court Rules 1:14 and 1:18.