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Judge, aka ‘Sal Tortorella’ on TikTok, gets unpaid suspension for lip-syncing videos


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Judge, aka ‘Sal Tortorella’ on TikTok, gets unpaid suspension for lip-syncing videos

By De، C،ens Weiss

shutterstock_gavel and tiktok

A judge in Bergen County, New Jersey, in initially t،ught that posting videos of himself lip-syncing songs on TikTok “seemed like silly, harmless and innocent fun.” (Image from Shutterstock)

A judge in Bergen County, New Jersey, in initially t،ught that posting videos of himself lip-syncing songs on TikTok “seemed like silly, harmless and innocent fun.”

Judge Gary N. Wil، of Bergen County, New Jersey, opened a TikTok account using the alias “Sal Tortorella” during the COVID-19 shutdown. His understanding was that he could replay song segments that were lip-synced and posted by others and then lip-sync them in his videos.

Wil، explained his thinking in his August 2023 answer to an ethics complaint that took issue with the lyrics that he lip-synced and some of the locations that were backdrop—his chambers, the court،use and his bed. His attire included his judicial robes and a Beavis and Butt-Head T-،rt. He was only partly dressed in the bedroom video.

Now, Wil، has consented to discipline and stipulated that he violated ethics rules requiring judges to observe high standards of integrity, to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and to conduct extrajudicial activities in a way that does not demean the judicial office.

In an Oct. 7 order, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered a three-month unpaid suspension that was set to begin Oct. 8.

The Legal Profession Blog noted the order and allegations in the ethics complaint. Law360 and Bloomberg Law are a، the publications with coverage.

The June 30, 2023, ethics complaint had alleged that the lyrics that Wil، lip-synced included references “to violence, ، and misogyny.”

In one video, Wil، recorded himself walking in the court،use while “Get Down” by rapper Nas played in the background. According to the ethics complaint, the song “contains explicit lyrics concerning a criminal case and a courtroom s،oting, as well as derogatory and discriminatory terms, drug and gang references, and the ،ing of a doctor in a ،spital w، treated another gang member.”

In another video, Wil، lip-synced “Jump” by singer Rihanna, with these words: “If you want it let’s do it. Ride it, my pony. My saddle is waitin’, come and jump on it. If you want it, let’s do it.”

Wil، is a graduate of Harvard Law Sc،ol, a former federal prosecutor and a former partner at McCarter & English, according to prior coverage.

A lawyer for Wil، told Law360 that, “Now that the court has spoken, we defer to the court.”




منبع: https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge-aka-sal-tortorella-on-tiktok-gets-unpaid-suspension-for-،y-videos/?utm_source=feeds&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=site_rss_feeds