Judges are running into ethics problems with social media

Some judges are finding themselves in hot water over their posts on social media platforms.

Judges in two states, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, have recently faced punishment from ethics panels, which are stepping up their monitoring of social media content.

In early October, Bergen County Superior Court Judge Gary Wilcox was suspended for three months after he published TikTok videos of himself lip-syncing explicit songs. 

The videos Wilcox posted resulted in an ethics complaint, given that the music referenced "violence, sex, and misogyny," according to the text of the complaint.

Judge Mark Cohen, a Philadelphia judge, was suspended earlier this month for 3 months due to his political posts on social media. 

Sam Stretton, Cohen's lawyer, said that he plans to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

Cohen has apparently continued to post about politics after his suspension, according to news reports.

"No other case in the history of the Court of Judicial Discipline has involved such defiance post decision," ruled the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline. "People appearing before judges deserve fair, unprejudiced jurists to weigh their cases."