Law clerk resigns over insensitive Trooper remarks

• State Trooper Anthony Raspa was killed Saturday after his patrol vehicle struck a deer
• Raspa is from Highland Park
• His funeral will be held Thursday at St. Matthias R.C. Church in Somerset

NEW BRUNSWICK – A law clerk working for state Superior Court Judge Travis Francis, the assignment judge for Middlesex County, has resigned from her $51,000 job after posting insensitive social media comments about the death of New Jersey State Trooper Anthony Raspa.

Winnie Comfort, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts, said late Wednesday afternoon that Leslie Anderson’s resignation, effective immediately, was accepted by Francis.

Anderson made comments on a News 12 New Jersey Facebook page about the death of Raspa, of Highland Park, who was killed Saturday after his patrol vehicle collided with a deer.

According to the Press of Atlantic City, Anderson described as “absurd” and “nonsensical” the praise Raspa was receiving for his service by others who posted comments.

Anderson also expressed sympathy for the deer.

In a letter sent to Francis on Wednesday, Patrick Colligan, president of New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association Inc., characterized Anderson’s comments as “beyond reprehensible.”

“Quite frankly, they are statements that actually shock the moral conscious,” Colligan said in his letter. “As outrageous as her statements were, it is more stunning that a supposedly educated person made these not only in a very public and open forum but likely made them while she was working. Anderson can’t even say it was a temporary lapse in good judgment. She responded repeatedly over a period of time.

“Unfortunately, Leslie Anderson must be held accountable for her conscious and deliberate breach of the public trust in our judiciary and the awesome responsibilities the position entails. This was not an ordinary citizen with the absolute right to freedom of speech. This is a well-educated graduate of law school that should have understood the respected limitations of her position and the trust our citizens must have in the judiciary.”

Comfort said Anderson, a recent law school graduate, served as a law clerk for one year.

Her employment was scheduled to end sometime in August. Most law clerks have not yet passed the bar examination, she said.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com