Judge censured after ethics complaint

Superior Court Judge Mary F. Thurber has been publicly censured for remaining the administrator of an estate after joining the bench in 2009, violating a rule that prohibits judges from controlling estates outside their own family.

A censure is more than a slap on the wrist – they could have admonished or reprimanded her instead – but she avoided suspension or removal.  Thurber is tenured and may remain on the bench until she reaches the mandatory age of 70 in 2027.

A complaint filed by the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct in January alleged that Thurber became the executor of the estate of Alfred Dopkus around 1998 and created a trust to benefit his sister, Isabelle McKinley.   But McKinley died before the estate had been completed, and Thurber spent roughly 24 years as the administrator – thirteen of those years while she was a judge.

A new law firm has identified at least five potential heirs that Thurber never located.

In July, Thurber admitted she had violated court rules, but argued that she had an “unblemished record of fourteen years of judicial service and no prior disciplinary history,” and that she had “displayed contrition and remorse.”  Thurber also said that she took no formal action as administrator of Dopkus’ estate while serving as a judge.

She is assigned to the Civil Division in Bergen County.