Ocean County Municipal Judge Suspended Over 'Biased' Facebook Posts

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — An Ocean County municipal court judge has been suspended from the bench for two months after a state judicial committee determined he violated judicial ethics with some of his social media postings and then failed to remove them, according to court documents.

Robert M. LePore, 72, who has served as a part-time municipal court judge in Point Pleasant Beach since August 2020, was ordered suspended without pay beginning Wednesday, under the order issued May 28 by New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner.

LePore also was ordered to undergo a minimum of four hours of in-person professional development courses focused on systemic, actual, and implicit bias; the courses must be pre-approved by the state Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, the order says.

In an October 2023 complaint by the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, LePore was accused of violating judicial ethics by "liking" the Facebook page of a local Republican political campaign, posting or sharing multiple posts associated with "Blue Lives Matter" and having friend connections with members of law enforcement. In addition the complaint said LePore's Facebook posts "contained multiple references to partisan political viewpoints," including one supporting a private business's efforts to honor Law Enforcement Appreciation Day with various initiatives, the complaint said.

LePore's social media activity violated New Jersey's judicial code of conduct because it "expressed a bias for law enforcement, or minimally created the appearance of a bias, that cast reasonable doubt on Respondent's ability to act impartially as a judge," the complaint said.

Among the pages and Facebook accounts he had liked and followed were local law enforcement organizations such as the Ocean County Police Academy, the Point Pleasant Police Department, the Brick Township PBA Local 230 and the Brick Police Athletic League.

LePore, who also served as Brick Township's municipal court judge from 2011-2014, also had liked pages including "American Police Beat" and "Survive the Streets: A Page for Cops," the complaint said, along with the group "NJ Bail Reform - Why New Jersey is LESS SAFE at the Taxpayers Expense."

That Facebook group "espouses views that contravene the Criminal Justice Reform initiative launched by the Judiciary on January 1, 2017 with which Respondent is charged with implementing as a municipal court judge," the ethics complaint says.

LePore was told to remove the items that were in violation, but failed to despite telling the committee he had done so, according to the complaint.

The social media activity violated the code of conduct because it "impugned the integrity and impartiality of the Judiciary," the complaint said.

LePore had responded to the complaint by saying he had worked hard to remove posts and unfriend people to comply with the judiciary committee's orders, even enlisted his daughter's help in making sure everything had been eliminated.

During a Dec. 18 hearing before the judiciary committee, LePore apologized for his actions, the Asbury Park Press reported.

"Shedding this unfortunate spotlight on the judiciary is sickening to me," LePore said, according to the report. "What I did was improper. I should be disciplined for it."