Former Jersey City Deputy Chief of Staff Phil Orphanidis had his driving under the influence (DUI) case adjourned for another two weeks today in municipal court since his attorney in the matter just received discovery last night, to the dismay of the judge for the case.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
“I’ve been an attorney for 25 years, and I feel that my integrity as an attorney was really called into question,” Jersey City Municipal Assistant Prosecutor Monica Cho said regarding what defense attorney Sebastian Cho said at the March 12th hearing.
“There were statements or insinuations made that I did not provide discovery, that I was writing these long-winded emails instead of providing discovery. There were questions raised as to where I was.”
According to Cho, once an attorney sends an e-mail requesting discovery, they get it. She said that the prosecutors themselves don’t provide that, but discovery agents do and they are on receipt of the email.
“I know everyone was looking for me on the last court date. Even if I had written a 1,000 line e-mail, I would not have sent the discovery out because that’s not my role.”
Cho stated that a proper discovery request through e-mail has still not been made in this case, which Municipal Court Judge Paul Scalia disputed as a policy of prosecutor’s office, not the court, also highlighting his previous request to skip formalities regarding discovery.
Bio previously stated in the last hearing that he had faxed over the request, but Cho noted separately at today’s hearing that policy has been to e-mail since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I took recognition of the fact that the case was going back and forth because of a possible change of venue scenario,” Scalia said.
“I wasn’t disparaging you. I think there were some comments made, but everybody was just, I guess, trying to get through.”
Scalia underscored he understood where Cho was coming from, but that he wanted to proceed with the hearing. He then began to get heated over the fact that his request to expedite discovery was not followed.
“I asked your office to forego any formalities given the time that thing was going back and forth and simply send out the discovery. I ordered your office to provide discovery forthwith. And the fact that it was said that the counsel … has got it late last night,” Scalia declared.
“I’m a little taken aback that my order was not adhered to. So you can posture all you want. I hate to say this to you counsel, but it’s not appropriate. We’re just trying to get through the proceeding today.”
When Cho began to delve into the procedural workings of the discovery process again, Scalia cut her off and moved forward with the proceeding. However, he still made it clear that Cho was not being thrown under the bus at the last hearing.
“Nobody was disparaging you, so I want discovery to be provided, regardless of whatever externality your office wants to overlay, which this court is not mandated to adhere to. I made a specific order for it to be given last time. That’s all I cared about,” he added.
Scalia echoed that all change of venue requests were denied as of the last hearing, and inquired if Bio had discussed with Orphanidis if they are going to appeal that decision to a higher court still seeking a different venue for the case.
According to Bio, he asked for the two-week adjournment in part to make that decision, but he still hasn’t done so since he still hasn’t been able to review discovery.
“It’s going to be dependent on my review of the discovery,” Bio said, noting that they would probably know how they would proceed after reviewing discovery later today.
Scalia was agreeable to that, and set the next hearing for April 16th. If Orphanidis is not interested in a plea deal, then the court will proceed to trial.
At the last hearing earlier in March, Bio expressed a desire for a change in venue arguing the case had been politicized, as only HCV reported.
He previously expressed concerns over the avalanche of news reports after the body camera footage of the incident, which is a public record, was released and panned by the new administration.
Orphanidis was charged with assault by auto, driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a chemical test, driving with an expired license, and failure to possess a driver’s insurance card back on September 30th, 2025.
He was the deputy chief of staff to then-Mayor Steven Fulop and was reassigned to assistant director of community development to a civil service position as a systems analyst for the city’s Animal Care and Control Division after Mayor James Solomon took office on January 15.
Orphanidis appeared at the hearing via Zoom, only turning his camera on after Scalia’s request. While he was mum in court, Orphanidis, who is also running for mayor of West Orange, had a lot to say online.
He wrote in an Instagram story that “The hypocrisy of the Solomon administration is blatant” since Anti-Violence Coalition of Hudson County Executive Director Pam Johnson had his endorsement for District 3 commissioner.
She was arrested for DWI in 2019, though she ended up pleading to a lesser charge and faced no driver’s license suspension.
Nonetheless, Orphanidis said everyone deserves a second chance, which is why, in his eyes, Solomon should be treating both cases equally.
The police body camera footage of the Orphanidis incident shows him irate at times since the administration hired so many new police officers. At one point, he also claimed this was retaliation after Fulop lost the gubernatorial primary in June.
“I’m the f***ng deputy chief of staff of Jersey City. I didn’t do anything f***ing wrong. This is f***ing stupid,” he says while being recorded by the body camera.
While being processed at a holding cell at the police station, he claimed that any elected official would have been let go, fixating on when Craig Guy, then the chief of staff to Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, had a DUI case dismissed in 2019.