ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—Less than a year after taking the oath of office, Englewood Municipal Court Judge Aishaah Rasul was suspended without pay by the state Supreme Court for violating multiple court rules, including a dozen provisions of the official code of judicial conduct.
In a Nov. 12 formal complaint issued by the state Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, and signed by Disciplinary Counsel Maureen G. Bauman, the complaint alleges seven specific counts of judicial misconduct.
Rasul has 20 days from the complaint date to file a response and then may request a hearing before the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, said officials familiar with the matter.
‘Violated judicial conduct’
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner suspended Rasul without pay after finding “probable cause to conclude that she violated the Code of Judicial Conduct” including a dozen separate code violations “and her continued service while disciplinary proceedings are pending would pose a substantial threat of serious harm to the administration of justice.”
Rasul, who has been practicing law for nearly three decades, was sworn-in Nov. 20, 2018, in City Council chambers and appointed judge in Englewood Municipal Court as of Dec. 1, 2018.
Prior, Rasul served as the city’s public defender for nine years.
Appointed last November
Rasul was appointed by council members with much fanfare last November. She is the first Muslim American and second consecutive African American judge to hold the post.
Before her stint as city public defender, she served a similar role in Passaic and Bergen counties.
According to the complaint, Rasul placed one of the women involved in a case she was adjudicating on “in-house probation,” which was done “in the absence of any statutory or legal authority.”
Also in violation of court procedure, Rasul ordered two defendants to pay required restitution to the plaintiff in cash.
After she was told by the city court administrator that “in-house probation” did not exist, and restitution should not be made directly to a victim at the courthouse, she allegedly cursed at the administrator.
According to the complaint, Rasul “in the absence of any statutory or legal authority, placed [one of the women] on ‘in-house probation’ for one year and warned that if she were to get into trouble again Rasul would ‘find [her] guilty of simple assault.’”
Also, the complaint alleges the plaintiff called Rasul to tell her that she hadn’t received the payment, so Rasul called one defendant to arrange payment.
Violated ‘impartiality’
Other legal provisions violated applied to Rasul’s “independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary” as well as compliance with the law.
Other allegations related to external influences and abuse of “the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal or economic interests of the judge or others, or allow others to do so.”
Additional charges questioned Rasul’s ability to be impartial and not discriminate “because of race, creed, color, sex, gender identity or expression.”
‘Great disappointment’
“It’s a great disappointment,” said Mayor Michael Wildes, reached Nov. 20, while at the state League of Municipalities annual conference.
He said the docket in Englewood “is robust” and urged the City Council to “act quickly and exhaustively” to remedy the judge’s suspension.
Temporarily, the city court is using backup justices to cover Municipal Court, he said.
Wildes suggested council members consider “bifurcating the job” and possibly hire two judges to cover the extensive court caseload.
He said hiring another Municipal Court judge or judges “is in the purview of this council and hopefully we can learn from this experience.”
Efforts to reach Council President Katharine Glynn for comment were not returned by press time.
The City Council meets Tuesday, Nov. 26, but it was unclear if action would be taken on Rasul’s status.
