The driving under the influence (DUI) case of former Jersey City Deputy Chief of Staff Phil Orphanidis has once again been delayed, though it now appears likely the matter will be heard in the local municipal court.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
At yesterday’s hearing, Jersey City Municipal Court Judge Paul Scalia asked if Orphanidis’ attorney, Sebastian Bio had spoken to Assistant Prosecutor Monica Cho yet, who is assigned to the case, to which Bio responded he hadn’t but probably wouldn’t need to.
Cho was absent from the hearing yesterday, instead Assistant Prosecutor Graham Fleetwood stood in for her. Orphanidis, also a West Orange mayoral candidate, appeared via Zoom again, but did not say anything.
“At this time, your honor, it’s under state belief that all the discovery they were provided. And we provided all the discovery that we had from the police,” Fleetwood told Scalia.
Back in September, Orphanidis was charged with assault by auto, DUI, refusal to submit to a chemical test, driving with an expired license, and failure to possess a driver’s insurance.
At the time, he was the deputy chief of staff to Mayor Fulop and has since been reassigned as a systems analyst for the city’s Animal Care and Control Division by new Mayor James Solomon, who took office on January 15th.
Scalia asked if Bio had received those discovery correspondences yet, to which he signified he finally received something but it was “hard to say” what was included in them.
According to Bio, he received eight electronic transmissions at around 3:30 p.m. the day prior, that he didn’t see until this morning.
“Do you think you could give us one more date? I don’t know what it is, I didn’t have a chance. I was a bit surprised, but I’m not concerned. I trust the prosecutor was crossing his t’s and dotting his i’s,” defense counsel noted.
Bio said he would call Fleetwood if need be, noting his was the fourth person on the file. However, Fleetwood stated he was just filling in for Cho and to continue discussion with her on the matter.
“So judge, I’ll speak to Miss Cho, as I have in the past, and we’ll get this thing resolved,” Bio said to Scalia in hopes of seeking another adjournment.
Scalia agreed and set the next court date for May 7th. Scalia then asked about the potential change of venue in the case, which has been a lingering issue to date, to which Bio said that he no longer feels that will be necessary.
“I’m pretty sure, unless the resolution is not what I anticipated per my conversation with Ms. Cho, we’re happy where we’re going to be here,” Bio indicated, keeping his remarks vague.
At his first court appearance in early March, Orphanidis had his case adjourned for two weeks after Bio told Scalia they had not received any discovery.
In addition, they debated having the DUI case moved to another court following an avalanche of news reports after the body camera footage of the incident, which is a public record, was released and panned by the Solomon administration.
Scalia denied all venue change requests at that March 12 hearing, meaning they would have to seek an appeal from a higher court if they still desired a change in venue.
He told Bio the reasoning was that he didn’t know Orphanidis, never interacted with him, and has no problem giving him a fair and speedy trial.
On March 26th, the case was delayed another two weeks after Bio has only just received discovery the night prior, to the dismay of Scalia towards the Municipal Prosecutor’s Office since he had requested an expedited delivery.
At the time, he said that if Orphanidis is not interested in a plea deal, then the court will proceed to trial.
Orphanidis faces pending charges from when he rear-ended a Tesla in Downtown Jersey City on September 30th, 2025 around 5:30 p.m. and a police officer responding to the scene immediately said he appeared drunk.
The then-high ranking city official admitted to having two drinks, but did not consent to a breathalyzer test.
The police body camera footage of the Orphanidis incident shows him irate at times since the administration hired a large number of 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.
