Ridgewood September 5, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Long-term judge resigns; firm’s donations cited by John Koster Long-term Ridgewood Municipal Magistrate Philip F. Sheridan has submitted his resignation following a state mandate that he either quit a firm that has made significant political contributions to political campaigns, or leave his part-time position as municipal judge of Ridgewood. The Ridgewood Village Council will reportedly be discussing the situation in closed session on Sept. 5 and will shortly appoint a new municipal judge. Judge Sheridan had served as Ridgewood’s magistrate for 23 years and has served as a municipal judge in Glen Rock and Saddle River. Sheridan’s resignation followed a ruling by the New Jersey State Supreme Court that bars law firms employing parttime municipal judges as part of their staff from making political contributions. The firm for which Sheridan now works, Archer & Greinder, merged with his previous firm, Hertein Bernstein, in 2011. Archer & Greinder reportedly made more than $330,000 in political contributions to political campaigns between 2003 and 2011. Sheridan, however, never made any personal contributions as an individual according to available records. Judge Sheridan was offered a chance to comment, but had not done so at press time. The Professional Rules Responsibility Committee and the Advisory Committee of Extrajudicial Activities developed rules reflecting the New Jersey State Supreme Court’s decisions that required Sheridan to either leave the firm or leave the bench. Sheridan has enjoyed a solid reputation for judicial integrity in Ridgewood, and Mayor Paul Aronsohn said the village was grateful for the quality of his service. A graduate of Notre Dame University in 1966, Sheridan graduated from Seton Hall School of Law in 1969 and has served as a municipal prosecutor and as a municipal judge. His specialty is civil litigation. He is a past president and member of the Bergen County Bar Association and is admitted to practice in U.S. District Court for New Jersey and the District Court of Appeals. “The only comment I have to make is that I wish they would find some way to let him be a judge again,” said Glen Rock Mayor John van Keuren, who saw Judge Sheridan in action when the Ridgewood court convened in Glen Rock for three years during the reconstruction of Ridgewood Village Hall. “He was friendly, he was affable, and he knew how to handle the court. I thought he was terrific -- a great judge.”