TRENTON — The state Supreme Court’s Judicial Ethics Committee has filed a formal complaint against a local municipal judge who was charged in March with drunk driving.
On June 25 Judge Peter Tourison, who presided over the municipal courts in Cape May, Stone Harbor and Middle Township, pled guilty to a charge of DWI before Judge David Krell in the Penns Grove Municipal Court.
Tourison lost his driver’s license for 90 days and was charged over $700 in fines and surcharges.
The incident occurred on March 27 when Tourison was observed driving his BMW in an erratic fashion before striking another vehicle in the North Cape May Wawa parking lot.
Tourison failed a field sobriety test and was taken to Lower Township Police Department.
While being processed, Tourison repeatedly applied Chap Stick to his lips and held a penny in his mouth in an effort to fool the Alcotest blood alcohol test, according to the complaint. Tourison’s test revealed a B.A.C of .08, the legal limit.
In its complaint, the Ethics Committee alleges Tourison violated three canons of the state judicial code of conduct:
* Canon 1, which requires judges to observe high standards of conduct;
* Canon 2A, which requires judges to respect and comply with the law;
* Canon 5A(2), which requires judges to conduct all of their extra-judicial activities so that they do not demean the judicial office.
Tourison’s actions also broke court rules that constituted misconduct in office and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, the complaint stated.
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