Middlesex Senators Call for Investigation into Judge Marcia Silva

Trenton – Senator Bob Smith, Senator Joseph Vitale, Senator Linda Greenstein and Senator Patrick Diegnan today, submitted a formal complaint to the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct requesting an immediate investigation into Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Marcia Silva.

In determining whether a 16-year-old boy should be charged as an adult for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl, Judge Silva used poor judgment, overstepped her authority and usurped the prosecutorial function, according to the Appellate Court that reviewed the opinion.

The most critical segment of Judge Silva’s opinion was the following: “The victim claimed that the [j]uvenile pushed her, grabbed her hands, removed her clothing and then penetrated her without her actual consent… However, beyond losing her virginity, the State did not claim that the victim suffered any further injuries, either physical, mental or emotional.”

After requesting an investigation on the grounds of Canon 1 & 3 of State of New Jersey’s code of judicial conduct, Senators Smith, Vitale, Greenstein and Diegnan issued the following statement:

“Judge Silva’s conduct is reprehensible and indefensible. We believe her opinion reflects such carelessly poor judgment that she should be removed, immediately, from her seat.

“Our judicial system must be held to the highest ethical and professional standards. Faith in our courts is fundamental to our society and leaving Judge Silva in place after such a display of misjudgment hurts not only the confidence in Middlesex’s court system, but all of New Jersey. Her behavior is unacceptable, it cannot be tolerated and therefore, we urge the judicial branch to take immediate corrective action.

“We have full faith that the ACJC will review our request for an investigation with the urgency and gravity this conduct requires.”