Edison judge faces ethics complaint after 2024 DWI arrest

A part-time municipal judge in Edison faces disciplinary charges stemming from a DWI arrest after a single-car crash in July 2024.

Gary M. Price, an attorney based out of South Plainfield and a part-time judge, struck a guardrail while driving on the evening of July 5, 2024. The responding officer smelled alcohol on Price’s breath, according to the charges, and performed field sobriety tests, including asking Price to recite the alphabet starting with D and ending with W.

“The alphabet never made sense to me,” Price said after failing the test.

Price did not immediately return a request for comment.

A blood test taken two hours after the crash showed his blood alcohol content above the legal limit. The charging document states the DWI charge was dismissed, but that Price agreed to have an ignition interlock device in his car for three months. Price pleaded guilty to reckless driving and paid a $50 fine.

The Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, which filed the charges against Price, alleges the judge misrepresented his actions to police and the ACJC, and charged him with “impugning the integrity of the Judiciary.” The charges allege Price did not truthfully disclose how much he had to drink at the Seasons 52 restaurant in Edison. The committee says a receipt from the day shows four alcoholic drinks on his tab — two Bombay Sapphire martinis and two vodka Cucumber Basil Smash drinks — not just the sole martini he claimed to have ordered.

The ACJC said Price never provided an itemized receipt from that day at Seasons 52 despite multiple requests; they argue he’s violated judicial rules by not cooperating with the investigation.