Threats Lead To Recusal Of All County Judges

The New Jersey Supreme Court remanded a matter in which the defendant’s motion to recuse the entire Bergen County judiciary from presiding over a criminal matter.

In this appeal, the Court considers defendant’s motion to recuse the Bergen County judiciary from presiding over his criminal indictments: The State asserts that defendant threatened to kill or harm two judges in the Bergen Vicinage, and, on that basis, defendant claimed that reasonable questions could be raised about the appearance of impartiality if a Bergen County judge presided over the indictments.

Two indictments are pending against defendant Aakash Dalal. The first charges defendant with a series of offenses directed against four synagogues and a Jewish community center. Many of the charges first appeared in six criminal complaints filed in February and March 2012. The presiding judge of the criminal division at the time initially set bail at $2.5 million. The following month, another judge denied defendant’s request to reduce his bail.

While defendant was in custody, an informant reported that defendant allegedly made threats against public officials and buildings. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for defendant’s jail cell, where officials found handwritten documents, including a chart of “ENEMIES” that listed the criminal presiding judge as a “high profile” enemy and the assistant prosecutor on defendant’s case as a “tactical” enemy. The words “DEAD COPS, DEAD COPS” appear on another page, which also features a chart of “ENEMIES,” naming the presiding judge and the judge who ruled on defendant’s bail at the top of the diagram. The assistant prosecutor and others are listed as well. As a result, defendant was charged with conspiracy to murder the assistant prosecutor, conspiracy to possess a firearm, and terroristic threats. On August 7, 2013, a Bergen County grand jury indicted defendant on those charges.

Defendant moved to dismiss both indictments and sought to recuse the presiding judge. After the State observed that the evidence provided “a significant reason” for the court to recuse itself, the presiding judge transferred the proceedings to a third judge (the “trial court”). The trial court subsequently denied defendant’s motions to recuse the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and for a change of venue based on pretrial publicity.

Holding

Not all threats or efforts to intimidate a judge will require recusal. However, given the serious nature of the threat, the absence of any proof of manipulation, the potential introduction of the evidence in one of the trials, and the relationships among judges within the Bergen Vicinage, a reasonable, fully informed observer could have doubts about a Bergen County judge’s impartiality. In light of recent developments, the matter is remanded to the Bergen County assignment judge for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

The remand requires the assignment judge to either bring in an outside judge or transfer the case to another vicinage. (Mike Frisch)