A LOOK INSIDE WACHTLER'S PSYCHE.(MAIN)

Byline: JOHN CAHER - Staff writer

Court documents prepared for Sol Wachtler's sentencing portray the state's former chief judge as a brilliant jurist, a professionally astute but emotionally naive man caught in a stale marriage, perhaps a narcissist, who threw his judicial power around to get what he wanted.

And the newly filed documents show Wachtler portraying Joy Silverman -- the woman behind his downfall -- as a thrice-married, idle-rich, spendthrift socialite who seduced the judge, dumped him for another lover and then taunted him, leading the jurist to psychotropic drugs that contributed to a lurid and scandalous extortion campaign.

The documents, compiled in preparation for Wachtler's sentencing on Sept. 9, provide an in-depth look at the affair, the judge's bizarre response to its end and the weird harassment campaign that devastated a stellar judicial and political career. Wachtler, former chief judge of the state Court of Appeals and once a probable candidate for governor, faces a federal prison term when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton, N.J.

While the documents contain little new about what happened, they do offer contrasting and fresh perspectives on why it happened. For the first time, Wachtler, who has not directly addressed the affair in public comments, explains his obsession for Silverman. She has not publicly discussed the case.

Wachtler claims that his marital relationship had withered with Joan, his wife of nearly 40 years, that they did not have marital …