A map of the Superior Court of New Jersey Family Division in Atlantic City. ATLANTIC COUNTY — The state Supreme Court Thursday reprimanded a Superior Court judge from Atlantic County for berating and belittling a woman discussing her daughter's visitation arrangements with her estranged husband.
The reprimand, a written letter in his personnel file, follows Judge Max Baker's transfer from the family division last July, seven months after yelling at the woman, telling her that she has "no clue" what it is to be a parent and that she needs "serious help."
Investigating the matter, the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct called it a "vicious and unjustified attack" and described Baker's behavior as "intimidating" and "disparaging" to the woman, identified in court papers as Ms. P.
"In this case, (Baker's) conduct was so far afield of normal and acceptable judicial behavior and demeanor that we believe that the public’s confidence in an impartial judiciary suffered, mandating public discipline," ACJC chairman Alan Handler wrote in the May 2 presentment against the judge.
Baker, an attorney since 1974, was appointed to the bench in Atlantic County in 1998, according to his biography. He had been presiding judge of the family division since September 2003 but was moved to the criminal division last July.
Turning 65 this month, Baker reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 2016.
The rant occurred Dec. 31, 2009, after the woman and her husband appeared without lawyers before Baker to request restraining orders against each other.
At the end of the hearing, the woman’s estranged husband told Baker that he hadn't seen his 4-year-old daughter in about a week.
Baker asked the woman why she had a problem letting the girl see her father then began his tirade without allowing the woman to answer his question, telling her to "keep your mouth quiet."
"When I talk, you listen. Don't you dare talk back to me," he continued.
When she said she made a bad decision in choosing the child's father, Baker said, "Why should I believe anything about your judgment today? Well, you just admitted you've got bad judgment," according to the presentment.
At one point, he insinuated he'd jail her if she didn't give the father more time with the girl before their next court date.
Responding to the allegations in a letter to the committee and during a Jan. 20 hearing, Baker said he was "harsh" and loud and that he had spoken to her "in an inappropriate manner."
He called the exchange an "aberration" and said it was a result of being "burned out" from his years in family court with its increased caseload and decreased staff.