Roberto A. Rivera-Soto

Roberto A. Rivera-Soto (born on November 10, 1953 in New York City) is an associate justice on the Supreme Court of the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Born in New York but raised in Puerto Rico, Rivera-Soto graduated from the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico in 1970. He graduated from Haverford College in 1974 with honors. He received his J.D. from Cornell University School of Law in 1977. At Cornell, Rivera-Soto was a Charles K. Burdick Scholar and a member of the Moot Court Board.

Rivera-Soto was a member of the Board of Directors of the "Please Touch Museum", a member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Development Authority for Small Businesses, Minorities and Women’s Enterprises, an alternate member of the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of Nevada, and a former Instructor in Trial Advocacy at Rutgers School of Law—Newark.

He had previously served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Caesars World, and was also vice- president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Greate Bay Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. From 1980 to 1983, he was a litigation associate at Fox Rothschild.

From 1978 to 1980, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 1977, Justice Rivera-Soto was an intern in the Office of the District Attorney of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Justice Rivera-Soto is currently a Certified Mediator in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, member and the current chair of the District VII Ethics Committee of the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Rivera-Soto's work as an Assistant United States Attorney was recognized by the Attorney General of the United States in 1980 when he received the United States Department of Justice's “Director's Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney”. He also received commendations from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of the United States Treasury Department and the United States Customs Service.

When he was nominated, Justice Rivera-Soto was a partner at Fox Rothschild, with offices in Princeton, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Justice Rivera-Soto was nominated by Governor James E. McGreevey on April 20, 2004 to serve on the Supreme Court. He was confirmed by the Senate on June 10, 2004, and was sworn in as an Associate Justice by Justice Virginia Long on September 1, 2004 in a private ceremony. On September 14, 2004, he reaffirmed the oath of office in a public ceremony at the Trenton War Memorial.

Rivera-Soto is married to the former Mary Catherine Mullaney; they have three sons, Adam, Christian and Nathan. They live in Haddonfield, New Jersey.

Ethics complaint

The New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct filed a complaint against Justice Rivera-Soto, only the second time in its 33-year history that the Committee filed against a Justice of the Supreme Court. The complaint alleged Rivera-Soto used his influence as member of the Supreme Court to benefit his son in a dispute with his son and a classmate that escalated into a legal matter. [Ramirez, Anthony. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/nyregion/13ethics.html "New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Accused of Ethics Violation"] , "The New York Times", May 13, 2007. Accessed August 11, 2008.] Justice Rivera-Soto did not fight the complaint, and the Advisory Committee recommended that the Supreme Court censure the Justice for his actions. The New Jersey Supreme Court, with Justice Rivera-Soto not participating, accepted the report and recommendation of the Advisory Committee and censured the Justice. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-20-nj-justice_N.htm "Justice chided for intervening in son's dispute"] , "USA Today", July 20, 2007. Accessed August 11, 2008.] The censure, which is the second time the Court has censured a sitting member in more than thirty years, carries no suspension or reduction in pay and ends the ethics matter on this issue. [http://blog.nj.com/njv_peter_mcdonough/2007/07/roberto_riverasoto_dead_man_wa.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/supreme/riverasoto.htm Justice Roberto A. Rivera-Soto]