Baloney. That’s not true. If you’re screwing him—let’s be frank now, because I should not be wasting judicial resources on this kind of malarkey. If you have been screwing him for these years, there’s no question that you know where she works. That’s how affairs work.
— Middlesex (NJ) County Assignment Judge Alberto Rivas, in comments made from the bench while overseeing a dispute between a husband, wife, and the husband’s girlfriend when the girlfriend stated she didn’t know where the wife was employed. In this case, the girlfriend sought the return of pictures depicting her in various stages of undress that were allegedly in the wife’s possession. Rivas also told the girlfriend, “I will give you a piece of advice … The only person you should be sending naked pictures to are (sic) Hugh Hefner. He will pay you $100,000 for the use of them.”
Rivas later apologized after an ethics complaint was brought against him, saying, “I regret the comments I made during the proceeding. I felt the court was being manipulated, but I let my feelings about the case influence my language, tone and demeanor, all of which were inappropriate.”
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.