Will NJ Supreme Court intervene in Paterson councilman's election fraud case?

PATERSON — Councilman Michael Jackson is asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to intervene in his legal battle with the Attorney General’s Office over the election fraud criminal charges pending against him.

At issue is whether Jackson must surrender the passcode for his cellphone that state investigators seized from him last spring, a move the councilman has said was part of a probe into allegations that he tampered with witnesses involved in the original case.

After Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed ordered Jackson to give up the passcode in November, the councilman filed an appeal. But the state Appellate Court declined to take the case.

Now Jackson is petitioning New Jersey’s highest court to take the case. That information was made public Monday after a brief conference in Superior Court involving the original charges, which were filed in June 2020.

Jackson repeatedly has said he does not want the Attorney General’s Office to know his passcode because he said investigators may plant something incriminating on his phone.

“I have no trust in the Attorney General’s Office,” Jackson said in an interview on Monday. “This is all a witch hunt.”

The attorney general's press office has said it will not comment on the pending criminal case against Jackson.

Several days after the charges were filed against him, Jackson took the oath of office at City Hall on July 1, 2020, and he has served almost all four years of his term while the criminal case moves along at a glacial pace. Jackson already has collected enough nominating petitions from voters to run for reelection to the 1st Ward council seat he has held since 2015.

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Paterson’s 3rd Ward councilman, Alex Mendez, also faces pending criminal charges from the city’s 2020 election. The Attorney General’s Office filed a second election fraud criminal complaint against Mendez, accusations that are far more extensive and detailed than the original allegations. The more recent case also includes allegations against Mendez’s wife and his campaign workers.

Mendez, who is now the council president, also picked up petitions to run for reelection in the May 14 municipal elections.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ councilman wants NJ Supreme Court to review fraud case