Monmouth County, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Paul X. Escandon is in the headlines again for all of the wrong reasons, as protests calling for his ouster heat up. Read more.. http://www.divorcemag.com/articles/Divorce_News/NJ-Escandon-Protests.shtml

1. Protests Resume Against NJ Judge Paul Escandon
By Josh D. Simon
Check out this Divorce News:
Monmouth County, New Jersey Superior Court Judge
Paul X. Escandon is in the headlines again for all of
the wrong reasons, as protests calling for his ouster
heat up.
Back in May, 2012, former Long Branch, New Jersey
resident Rachel Alintoff complained to the state's
Governor Chris Christie at a town hall about
Escandon’s alleged unfair and illegal behavior,
pointing out that the Superior Court Judge stripped
her of parental rights over her 2-year old son without
a mandatory hearing.
Widow
Discovers
Husband
Secretly
Divorced Her
115,000
Women a Year
Lose Health
Insurance After
Divorce: Study
Alintoff further claimed that the shocking move was designed to get back at her for filing
an order of protection in neighboring New York State – instead of New Jersey -- after
her husband, Bryan, failed to get rid of a handgun that was part of a child custody order
signed by Escandon.
She also complained that, even after the Appeals Court overturned Escandon’s custody
ruling, the embattled Superior Court Judge denied her access to her clothing, refused to
award her funds to pay her legal fees, and only entitled her to $1,100 month in child
support – despite the fact that her ex-husband earned over half a million dollars a year
as a Wall Street One Percenter.
Since blogging about her ordeal and uploading a video of the town hall meeting with
Gov. Christie, Alintoff has attracted a groundswell of support from other divorcing
women who have appeared in Escandon courtroom. So far, the movement has
culminated in two boisterous -- but civilized and law abiding – protests outside the
Monmouth County Courthouse; the first in September, and the most recent last Friday.
The latest group of protestors, who braved the cold weather to call attention to their
cause, allege that Escandon – who’s term doesn’t expire until 2016 – has systemically
favored men in Monmouth Country divorce cases.

2. “I’m here because I don’t think the ruling against me was valid,” Susan Smith, a resident
of Freehold, New Jersey , told Mark J. Bonamo of NJ.com. “I’m not looking for profit. I’m
looking for proper legal procedure, without bias.”
Notably, not all of the protesters were women. Some were men who have witnessed the
impact of Escandon’s allegedly unfair or illegal rulings.
“I had a friend who went before Judge Escandon here in Monmouth County for her
divorce, and she had a really tough time,” stated Paul Lunz, a New Yorker, in an
interview with NJ.com. “She got her kids taken away from her, wasn’t allowed to go into
her house to move her personal property and got minimal child support. Divorce should
be a simple, 50-50 thing, because it’s the kids that hurt the longest. I went through one,
and it was cut and dry. This whole thing doesn’t make sense.”
As for Susan Smith, her ordeal isn’t yet finished – but her savings almost are.
“I want to appeal, but I’m pretty broke,” Smith told NJ.com. “My opponent can afford a
$10,000 lawyer, but I’m still doing the best that I can. I hope that I don’t get swept under
the rug.”
Smith, along with dozens of other protesters, have also asked the New Jersey ’s
Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct to probe Escandon’s alleged
bias and courtroom behavior. Should evidence of misconduct be found and established,
Escandon could face a number of official reprisals, including sanctions, suspension or
removal.
Escandon did not immediately return a phone call from NJ.com inviting him to comment
on the protests and the allegations levied against him.