Police charge judge with drunken driving

State Superior Court Judge Rosemarie Williams’ blood alcohol level allegedly registered 0.16 percent.

By: Melissa Edmond
   Hillsborough Township police charged state Superior Court Judge Rosemarie Williams with driving while intoxicated at 11:21 p.m. Dec. 13 on South Branch Road.
   Judge Williams, a 53-year-old Hopewell resident, is assigned to the Civil Division of the court in Somerville.
   Hillsborough police charged her with driving while intoxicated after she failed field sobriety tests. Lt. Paul Kaminski said that her blood alcohol level was 0.16 percent.
   Judge Williams was also charged with failure to keep right.
   Police said they received a call from a motorist who reported seeing a silver BMW traveling west on New Centre Road in an erratic way and believed the driver was intoxicated.
   The caller followed the BMW until police stopped Judge Williams on South Branch Road.
   Police said Judge Williams was later released to a friend and was given a January court date.
   The Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct suspended Judge Williams from Aug. 13, 2001, to Nov. 12, 2001, after Judge Williams had an altercation in a Ewing restaurant with a Mercer County Sheriffs Officer with whom she had been romantically involved. The committee ruled that Judge Williams had misled police regarding the incident and had failed to uphold the "high standards of conduct."
   The committee also noted Judge William "performs well on the bench and has a reputation as a solid and fair judge."