Complaint filed against Robbinsville municipal judge for misconduct with subordinate

A complaint against Robbinsville Municipal Court Judge R. Douglas Hoffman was filed today by the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct (ACJC) alleging that Hoffman made inappropriate sexual advances towards a subordinate.

According to the complaint, Hoffman, who first became a Robbinsville judge in 2010 and who also holds judicial positions in several nearby towns, became close with a Robbinsville violations clerk, identified in the complaint only as L.W., in 2021 and 2022.

In October 2022, L.W. met Hoffman at his beach house and had a number of drinks with him, after which Hoffman allegedly touched L.W.’s knee and upper thigh without her consent. L.W. quickly left, and shortly afterwards reported the incident to her supervisor and to Robbinsville’s human resources department.

“[Hoffman], in providing alcohol to and drinking alcohol with L.W., a subordinate employee, over several hours, while that employee was a guest in his home, and in touching L. W. without her consent, violated Canon 1, Rule 1.1, and Canon 2, Rule 2.1 of the Code of Judicial Conduct,” the ACJC’s complaint states. “By the same conduct, [Hoffman] demeaned the judicial office in violation of Canon 5, Rule 5.1(A), of the Code of Judicial Conduct.”

The complaint is still in its opening stages; any potential discipline against Hoffman likely won’t be announced for some time.