Comment #: NY12548
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Stacey Romeo (Monroe County Family Court): Racist and rude, Romeo has no qualms about removing children from safe homes. Usually this is done with the collusion of her favored Attorney for the Child, Sarah Fifield. When public outcry makes a case stressful for her, she transfers the case to Judge Joseph Nesser. In one case, Romeo removed a child and threw her into foster care on the basis of an allegation that a mother had applied oil to a child’s body as part of a Hindu ritual. At a hastily arranged 1080 hearing, both parents tried to explain cleansing rituals common around Diwali. Romeo cut them off: “I am not going to listen about Hindu practices… I don’t care what you do in your country.” In this case, Romeo refused to offer an interpreter to the mother, whose primary language was Telugu (spoken by 93 million Indians). Romeo is also notorious for fraud upon the court, and tampering with evidence. Official transcripts bear little resemblance to what is stated in court. Romeo is terrified of publicity. She makes everyone hand in their cellphones before entering her courtroom, although often she simply bars the public from entering, in direct contravention of the Chief Judge’s directive that all courts must be open to the public. There is an online petition to Romeo removed and sanctioned here. It related to a case where Romeo recklessly allowed a father custody of child, even though he was a convicted sex offender. Protests outside the courtroom led to adverse media coverage, which then persuaded Romeo to recuse herself from the case. Romeo classifies herself as a Conservative and a Republican and has her own Twitter account, which she uses to raise money. She was elected a family court judge in 2016, when she narrowly defeated Democratic party candidate Maritza Buitrago in the Monroe County Family Court general election. Before becoming a family court judge, she claims to have had six years as a law clerk and referee. She is married to another attorney and ABA member, Michael Schmitt. Her term is due to end in 2026.