A New Jersey judge used an alias to post TikTok videos lip-syncing rap and pop songs with controversial lyrics and did so, at times, while wearing judicial robes and in the courthouse, according to a judicial conduct complaint.
Superior Court Judge Gary N. Wilcox, 58, posted about 40 videos under the name “Sal Tortorella” from April 11, 2021, to March 4, according to the complaint from the Supreme Court of New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, which was filed Friday. Wilcox’s posts were public and not in a private setting, the complaint said. The posts undermined public confidence in the judiciary and violated judicial rules, it said.
The complaint also said that many of the videos included references to violence, sex and misogyny and that one post included the judge “partially dressed while lying in bed.”
In one video, Wilcox was in his judge’s chambers with law books behind him. He wore a suit and a tie and lip-synced the following lyrics, the complaint said: “All my life, I’ve been waiting for somebody to whoop my ass. I mean business! You think you can run up on me and whip my monkey ass? Come on. Come on!”
In another video, Wilcox wore a "Beavis and Butt-Head" T-shirt while he walked through the courthouse as rapper Nas’ “Get Down” played. The song, the complaint said, included derogatory lyrics and made gang and drug references that included killing a doctor who treated a gang member.
In one post, Wilcox wore a “Freedom of Speech” T-shirt and lip-synced to a song that referred to spilling cognac on a $200 suit, the complaint said.
Wilcox has been practicing law in New Jersey since 1989 and works in Bergen County, according to the complaint. He attended Harvard Law School.
Attorney Robert B. Hille, who is representing Wilcox, said Wednesday in an email he is preparing a response to the complaint. Asked for comment on behalf of his client, he pointed to a statement he gave to The New York Times.
“I don’t think that at the end of the day anybody is going to believe there was any desire to do any harm here," Hille said. “Hindsight is 20-20.”
Northjersey.com reported Wilcox has 20 days to submit a written or formal answer to the complaint, although that time could be extended. After it receives a response, the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct will schedule a formal hearing.
The committee can issue private discipline, or it can ask the state Supreme Court to issue public discipline, from admonition, censure or suspension to removal from the bench, according to the state's complaint procedures.