A New Jersey judge is facing disciplinary charges for allegedly getting drunk at a holiday party for judges last December and then inappropriately touching three female court staffers and making sexually suggesting remarks.
Elizabeth Municipal Court Judge Richard Obuch is also accused of engaging with adult entertainment figures on social media and inappropriately commenting on their photos.
The court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct (ACJC) alleges in their complaint that “during the three hours that he remained at the party, consumed two Old Fashioneds, Sangria, and five or more shots of tequila and vodka” and that he “was intoxicated within 45 minutes of arriving at the party, but continued to drink alcohol for more than two hours thereafter before leaving the party for the evening.”
Some of Obuch’s behavior appears, including kissing the women without their consent, appeared to be “captured on camera” after he “invited himself into photos with the women in a photo booth.”
The complaint details a moment where Obuch allegedly approached one of the court employees “on the dance floor while inappropriately dancing and gyrating towards her.”
Then Obuch, the complaint states, followed the woman to the women’s restroom and “jammed his foot in the doorway and prevented her from closing the door, while saying “wait, wait, come on, let’s take a shot.” That was apparently witnessed by others.
“By inappropriately touching female court employees, including kissing them, without their consent, following them to the women’s restroom, and making several inappropriate and/or sexually suggestive remarks to them, (Obuch) demeaned the judicial office, demonstrated disrespect for the Judiciary, and an inability to conform his conduct to the high standards of conduct expected of judges, and exhibited poor judgment,” the complaint says.
The 57-year-old Obuch posted on multiple accounts depicting nude women, and “made inappropriate comments on their photos and responded to their explicit, vulgar, and sexual comments and questions.”
The ACJC also claims that in November 2023, Obuch is show on his own X (formerly Twitter) account “embracing an adult film actress at an Exxxotica Convention.” The complaint alleges that the judge was “acquainted with the actress” and is a subscriber to her OnlyFans account.
“By his conduct in publicly interacting with adult entertainment figures and/or commenting on their photos, posting comments that include vulgarity, lewdness, explicit sexual references, and nudity, (Obuch) exhibited poor judgment and demonstrated disrespect for the Judiciary and an inability to conform to the high standards of conduct expected of judges,” the complaint stated.”
His X account appears to have been deleted.
The complaint also alleges that his law firm website includes references to his status as a municipal court judge, as did some of his personal social media sites. Obuch’s Facebook page appears to have been wiped clean.
Obuch has been a judge since 2002.
This is Obuch’s second complaint. In 2012, he was reprimanded for serving as a private lawyer for an Elizabeth City employee and becoming involved in a criminal complaint against that individual.
Despite the presence of judges and law enforcmeent officials at the holiday party, no summonses for public intoxication or assault were issued, court records show.
The presiding municipal court judge, Cassandra A. Corbett, declined to comment on the complaint. No one answered the phone at Obuch’s law office on Wednesday afternoon.
The panel could recommend public admonition, reprimand, censure, suspension, or removal from the court. By filing the complaint, the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct has already opted against disciplining the judge privately. The final decision on discipline rests with the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Gary Wilcox, a criminal court judge in Bergen County, is accused of making profane, racist, and sexually graphic TikTok videos. Wilcox admitted to creating about 40 lip-synced videos that he placed on TikTok, some while wearing his judicial robe while in his court chambers, walking through the Bergen County courthouse, and in his bed partly undressed, using the pseudonym “Sal Tortorella,” but says he didn’t realize they would be available to the public and claimed many were “taken out of context.”