Wanda Molina

Jersey City Municipal Court Judge Wilson Campbell faces ethics charges for allegedly having an affair with his bailiff, who attempeted suicide after they broke up.

An ethics complaint has been filed against Jersey City Municipal Court Judge Wilson Campbell, who allegedly had an affair with a bailiff assigned to his courtroom.  The bailiff attempted suicide last June after breaking up with the Judge, according to the complaint filed by the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct.  The bailiff has been reassigned to another courtroom and Campbell continues to serve on the bench.

The incident occurred just weeks before former Jersey City Municipal Court Chief Judge Wanda Molina was indicted for fixing parking tickets.   Molina is accused of dismissing eight parking tickets for a female companion. She stepped down last year during the initial investigation over ticket fixing, which netted half of Jersey City's municipal judges. 

Three other Jersey City Judges have been charges with misconduct as part of the ticket fixing scandal: Victor Sison, Pauline Sica and Irwin Rosen.  Also indicted was Virginia Pagan, a former court administrator who allegedly fixed 215 parking tickets for herself and her daughter.

Congratulations to Newark City Councilwoman Dana Rone, who has emerged as the early front runner for the 2008 Zulima Farber Award. She seems to be running ahead of Annette Lartigue, a City Councilwoman from Trenton, and former Jersey City Municipal Court Judge Wanda Molina.

And newly-elected Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. is now a candidate for the 2008 Oink! Oink! Wayne Bryant Award – a category that always has considerable competition in New Jersey.

This week's Winners & Losers: Click here

Former Jersey City Municipal Court Chief Judge Wanda Molina was indicted yesterday for fixing parking tickets, according to the Star-Ledger.

Molina is accused of dismissing eight parking tickets for a female companion. She stepped down last year during the intial investigation over ticket fixing, which netted half of Jersey City’s municipal judges.

Also indicted as Virginia Pagan, a former court administrator who allegedly fixed 215 parking tickets for herself and her daughter.

So far, four out of ten Jersey City Municipal Court Judges have departed as part of a growing ticket fixing scandal.  Judge Victor Sisone took a leave of absence yesterday, joining Chief Judge Wanda Molina and two others.

While the Mayor of Jersey City appoints local Judges, with the advise and consent of the City Council, Municipal Court Judges are supervised by the Superior Court Assignment Judge.  It might be interesting to see if Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, the state Judiciary Boss, will hold the Assignnment Judge, Maurice Gallipoli, accountable for a scandal that happened on his watch.