PUNISHMENT

Panel Reprimands N.J. Judge for Asking Rape Victim Whether She Could Have Closed Her Legs

Superior Court Judge John Russo has been on paid administrative leave since the May 2017 incident.

A New Jersey judge who asked a rape victim last May if she could have closed her legs should be suspended for three months, a Supreme Court advisory panel recommended on Thursday. Superior Court Judge John Russo’s conduct toward the woman at a restraining order hearing showed “an emotional immaturity wholly unbefitting the judicial office and incompatible with the decorum expected of every jurist,” the review panel wrote in a 45-page recommendation. The report detailed four different incidents of misconduct and will be presented in a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for July 9. In May 2017, Russo asked a rape victim if she knew how “to stop somebody from having intercourse with you?” He then pressed her on how she could have avoided the situation, including “blocking [her] body parts” and “closing [her] legs.” After the incident, Russo was put on paid administrative leave.