NJ Judge Admits Rant On Domestic Violence Was ‘Inappropriate’

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A part-time judge from Essex County has admitted that his comments to a man facing domestic abuse charges were “inappropriate,” court officials announced Monday.

On Nov. 29, Steven Brister, who serves as a municipal judge in East Orange, filed an answer to a formal complaint from the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct (ACJC).

Brister, who also serves as an acting judge in the City of Newark Municipal Court as needed, admitted to several counts of the complaint, including a questionable rant about what is considered acceptable behavior when men get “frustrated with the women human beings.”

• See related article: NJ Judge Tells Man It's OK To Show Women 'You're In Control'

According to the ACJC complaint, the comments took place when Brister was speaking with a defendant facing multiple domestic violence charges via video link from the county jail on Feb. 21.

During the video conference, Brister allegedly told the man:

"I'm going to tell you what I tell a lot of people with this same charge. Because all of these charges are the same. We, as men, and I can speak to you as a man, [because] I am a man as well. We get frustrated with the women human beings. Because we try to straighten out a creation, [because] they [were] created with a curve. But we as men, we think we [are] above creation and we can straighten it out. No matter how much you try, or how you try to straighten out that curve, you can never do it. We get frustrated and then but, in our frustration, you can't come at them like you [are] Mike Tyson and 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 and you're in control. But in each of these five complaints it said you went at them like Mike Tyson."

During an informal conference before the committee on July 30, Brister was asked "What's the curve that women were created with?"

According to the ACJC, Brister's reply was:

"When I was young, I was an altar boy, and so it says [Eve] was created from the curved rib of a man. 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."

In its complaint, the ACJC wrote that Brister's reference to women and the manner in which men should treat them was "inappropriate, disparaging to women and had the potential to create the appearance of a gender bias."

The ACJC also accused Brister of "assimilating his personal religious beliefs into his judicial role."

In his answer to the ACJC complaint, Brister admitted he “mistakenly assimilated his personal religious beliefs into his judicial role” and failed to conform to the high standards of conduct expected of judges in New Jersey.

“The comments also drew distinctions between males and females which are anathema to our principles of anti-discrimination decision-making applicable in litigation,” Brister’s attorneys wrote.

“The best analysis is that the comments were well-meaning but undeniably misguided,” Brister’s attorneys added.

Brister has since taken several steps to make amends, including enrolling in and successfully completing several online CLE ethics courses, his attorneys said.

These classes included:

• #YOUTOO ... Sexual harassment in the Practice of law (l credit)
• A Bad Day In Black Robes (2.5 credits)
• Maintaining A Bias-Free Court Room (l credit)
• Some Legal Advice For New Judges (l.5 credits)

A formal hearing will be scheduled in accordance with the “Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey, Rule 2:15. Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, court administrators said Monday.

Brister is a member of the Bar of the State of New Jersey. He was admitted to the practice of law in 1985.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.