New Jersey Superior Court Judge John Russo Jr. has filed an answer in advance of his upcoming removal proceedings, which was made public Friday along with an order denying Russo’s bid to force New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner to recuse from his case.

Russo was charged with ethics violations for his handling of a case in which a woman was seeking a restraining order against a man who she claimed abandoned her along a roadway, threatened to burn her house down, and forced her to have sex. The ethics complaint alleged that Russo, from the bench, put himself in the position of defense counsel by asking her if she tried to “run away,” “block[ed her] body parts,” “close[d] your legs,” or called for the police.