A New Jersey Judge under fire for advising a domestic violence suspect of alternative ways to let women know men are ‘in control’, besides using his fists, has apologized & admitted his comments were ‘undeniably misguided.’
Acting Newark Municipal Court Judge Steven Brister made the controversial outburst while hearing a domestic violence case back in Feb, before the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct (ACJC) filed a formal complaint against him in Oct.
According to a transcript of the hearing, Steven Brister told the defendant that "We get frustrated & ... in our frustration you can't come at them like [you're] Mike Tyson & they're in the ring like they're Leon Spinks. You can't do it. You can't punch, you can't hit".
‘At best, you treat as if you're holding a feather, just to let them know you're the man & you're in control.’
Upon reflection, He has since recanted the statement & apologised, saying that "the best analysis is that the comments were well-meaning but undeniably misguided".
At the time, however, he characterized the unsolicited advice as something he tells "a lot of people with this same charge".
Brister also told the defendant in the Feb 21 hearing that men often become angry with women because they were "created with a curve".
Brister added, "No matter how much you try, or how you try to straighten out that curve, you can never do it".
During a July 30 hearing with the ACJC, Brister was asked to explain what he meant by the comments.
He said that while serving as an altar boy he was taught the biblical story of how Eve was created from ‘the curved rib of Adam' - scripture he shared with the defendant.
‘So if you believe in a creation from a higher power, then that curve is the creation of the woman with the curve of the rib of Adam,’ Brister sought to clarify.
Regardless, in their complaint, the ACJC wrote that Brister's reference to women & the manner in which men should treat them was ‘inappropriate, disparaging to women & had the potential to create the appearance of a gender bias.’
Therefore, the committee accused him of violating several canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct which ‘requires judges to decide cases according to the law & facts & not permit family, social, political, financial or other relationships or interests to influence their judicial conduct or judgment’ – including religion, the complaint says.
In reply, Brister admitted to ‘mistakenly’ assimilating his personal religious beliefs into his judicial role, subsequently failing to "conform his conduct to the high standards of conduct expected of judges & impugned the integrity of the Judiciary".
A disciplinary hearing is expected to be scheduled for Brister, which could result in him being publicly censured, admonished, reprimanded, suspended or removed from the bench entirely, according to the New Jersey Courts website.
Brister is a member of the Bar of the State of New Jersey & was admitted to the practice of law in 1985. He currently serves as a judge in courts in East Orange & Newark.
Source Link
