Superior Court judge reprimanded for unprofessional behavior

The New Jersey Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Superior Court Judge Michael Kassel on Wednesday for being unprepared, failing to maintain impartiality, and acting unprofessionally.

During a temporary family court assignment in the Spring of 2021, Kassel publicly stated his distaste for the reassignment and repeatedly failed to properly prepare himself for hearings.

In sixteen separate incidents, Kassel “remarked to litigants and their counsel appearing before him that he lacked familiarity with their case, was ignorant of the applicable law and incapable of adjudicating family court matters, and expressed dissatisfaction with the temporary assignment and the method by which that assignment was made,” the ACJC wrote.

During one hearing, Kassel reportedly remarked that “you could get a guy off the street that’s more experienced than me with this stuff”; during another, he told litigants and their counsel to “treat me like I’m a ninth grader in high school.”

The Advisory Committee on Judicial Conductalso accused Kassel of failing to wear judicial robes, propping his feet up on his desk, and admitting he “liked” the defense counsel, with whom he had a prior relationship, during one virtual hearing.

Kassel accepted the findings of the ACJC and waived his right to a hearing.

Now assigned to the civil division, Kassel has been a Superior Court judge Gov. Donald DiFrancesco nominated him in 2011.  He can hold his seat until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 2027.