Joseph Portelli Case Summary

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On Friday June 10, 2016 Passaic County Superior Court Judge Joseph Portelli presided over a case involving an a young adult accused of theft. The trial itself was fairly routine, however while giving his deliberation, Portelli proceeded to engage the defendant in small talk. For no more than a minute the two gentlemen discussed the latter’s career of working in a local pizza place. It cleared the air for some jokes to be made but it was also oddly out of place for a courthouse setting. Shockingly enough this wasn’t the first time Portelli made off-topic comments during trials.
Rewinding back to Wednesday April 06, 2016, Portelli, who presided over the family division was crying during a hearing over his ostensible breaches of ethics. The charges were brought out by a complaint in regards to garish and sexually suggestive comments made by Portelli in front of lawyers and witnesses. According to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct …show more content…
Canon 1 of the Code of Judicial Conduct states: “...A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing, and should personally observe, high standards of conduct so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be …show more content…
Thus lessening the integrity of not just himself but other members of his receding judiciary as well. Which in turn violates Canon 1.
Canon 3B(4) of the Code of Judicial Conduct states:
“A judge should not make unnecessary appointments, [and] should exercise the power of appointment only on the basis of merit, avoiding nepotism and favoritism…” If Portelli had just made one comment to the witness congratulating her on her appearance it might have been acceptable. However the minute he decided to write her a note it's clear he favored the witness quite a bit leading into a potential form of biasness. Which in turn violates Canon

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