Former judge loses suit claiming bias after disclosure of his affair with bailiff
A former New Jersey municipal court judge has lost his federal lawsuit claiming court officials discriminated against him because of his interracial affair with a bailiff.
The former part-time judge, Wilson Campbell, who is black, had claimed court officials treated him more harshly than a white judge who sent amorous emails on his office account to a white former law clerk, the New Jersey Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The white judge was allowed to keep his job, though he did receive a censure.
U.S. District Judge Esther Salas of Newark dismissed most of the defendants from Campbell’s case in 2012, and tossed a remaining claim against former Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli on Dec. 23, according to the New Jersey Law Journal account.
Campbell had claimed Gallipoli tried to force his resignation and filed an ethics complaint against him. But Salas ruled that Campbell failed to show he suffered an adverse employment action, the story says. Campbell remained on the bench while the investigation was pending, and Gallipoli did not have the authority to affect the terms of Campbell’s employment, Salas said. And though Gallipoli was instrumental in initiating the disciplinary process, Campbell did not prove Gallipoli filed an ethics complaint, according to Salas.
Campbell resigned in 2009, before receiving a public reprimand for failing to report the relationship so the bailiff could be reassigned.
Campbell’s relationship with the bailiff came to light after the bailiff attempted suicide and said the reason was a breakup with Campbell.
Campbell also sued Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold, where he worked in addition to his job as a municipal court judge. His suit said he was forced to resign after the judicial ethics case against him was made public. The case was settled in 2013, but terms of the deal were not disclosed, the story says.
