Melanie Donohue Appleby
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This judge is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!
Melanie Donohue Appleby is a judge on the Vicinage 14 Superior Court in New Jersey and serves in the court's Family Division.[1] Appleby was appointed to the court in 2011 by Governor Chris Christie. She would have to be reappointed to the court in 2018 to remain on the bench.[2][3] A formal judicial misconduct complaint was filed against Appleby on November 4, 2013. (See below.)
Education
Appleby received her J.D. from Rutgers University.[2]
Career
Appleby was a councilwoman for Toms River, Ohio prior to her judicial appointment in 2011.[4][5]
Noteworthy events
Formal complaint filed for alleged conflict of interest (2013)
The New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct filed a 9-page formal complaint against Appleby on November 4, 2013. According to the complaint, Appleby failed to report she had a conflict of interest with an attorney who was representing clients in her court, and she allegedly attempted to cover up the conflict and allowed others to do so as well. She was charged with six violations of New Jersey's canons of judicial conduct.[6]
In 2012, Appleby reportedly needed a family law attorney to assist her with a child support matter. According to the complaint, her former husband, Christopher Donohue, no longer wanted to pay education expenses for their son. Appleby's secretary recommended that she contact attorney Frank A. Louis. Although Louis had matters pending before Appleby, she met with him in her chambers at the Vicinage 14 Superior Court on May 8, 2012. During the meeting, Louis allegedly stated he wanted to help Appleby but wanted to avoid having his name placed on her conflict list. He told Appleby he would try to find a way to help her. Appleby later provided Louis with papers relating to her divorce settlement and discussed the matter with him via phone and e-mail.[6]
Louis later allegedly contacted Mark Biel, a friend, who was a partner at another law firm. Biel told Louis he was too busy to take on Appleby's case. Instead, Biel agreed to send out a letter indicating his firm represented Appleby. Biel's paralegal sent blank copies of their firm's stationary to Louis so he could prepare a letter for Biel to sign. However, Louis never prepared a letter for Biel to sign. Instead, he prepared a formal letter stating Appleby's legal position regarding the child support dispute. There was no signature on the document, but the words, "BIEL LETTERHEAD" were typed at the top of the document, in large, bold letters.[4]
Louis forwarded the letter to Appleby and she returned it to him on June 22, 2012, with edits. She stated,
| “ | . . .I love the letter just as it is, and do not choose to go the route of the alternate proposal at this time. . .[6][7] | ” |
According to the complaint, on June 26, Louis sent an original letter to Christopher Donohue. The letter was prepared on stationery for Biel's law firm, with his signature. On July 18, Donohue contacted Biel to discuss the matter, only to learn Biel had not sent the letter and he did not represent Appleby. During this time, Louis continued to represent clients in court appearances before Appleby. It was not until September 4, 2012, that Appleby sent a memo to administrators at the court and requested Louis' name be added to her conflict list.[6]
Appleby was charged with multiple violations of New Jersey's code of judicial conduct. Judges found guilty of misconduct may receive a public reprimand, censure, suspension or be removed from the bench. Appleby was represented by Guy P. Ryan, with the law firm of Secare, Ryan & Hensel.[4]
Update (2014)
The New Jersey Supreme Court found Appleby guilty of violating multiple canons of judicial conduct and ordered her suspended for one month without pay. Appleby reportedly admitted that she had engaged in a conflict of interest but denied any knowledge of a cover-up.[8]
See also
External links
- New Jersey Courts Website
- Politicker NJ, "Senate Judiciary releases several Superior Court judge nominations," June 29, 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, Overview - Civil Division
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New Jersey Judiciary, "Judge Biographies"
- ↑ See Judicial selection in New Jersey
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 www.app.com, "State Superior Court Judge Melanie Donohue Appleby faces ethic questions," November 9, 2013
- ↑ Asbury Park Press, "Gov. Christie nominates Toms River councilwoman to judgeship," June 21, 2011 (preview)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Supreme Court of New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, "In the Matter of Melanie D. Appleby, Judge of the Superior Court, Formal complaint, Docket No. ACJC 2013-037," accessed November 18, 2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Asbury Park Press, "Judge suspended for improper relationship with lawyer," November 6, 2014
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Jersey • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Jersey
State courts:
New Jersey Supreme Court • New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division • New Jersey Superior Courts • New Jersey Municipal Courts • New Jersey Tax Court
State resources:
Courts in New Jersey • New Jersey judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Jersey
