Three Judges Recuse Themselves: How a custody case went three years without a single hearing
In a custody case that defied all norms, three consecutive Westchester judges recused themselves. Combined with the firing and delicensing of court-appointed experts and the turnover of six attorneys for Mom, the result was a custody battle that went years without a single substantive hearing — while Dad was denied meaningful access to his daughter.
A Pattern of Recusals
After Mom fled San Francisco with Evie in June 2018 — following Dad's emergency custody order and a restraining order against Mom — the custody matter landed in Westchester County courts. What followed was an unprecedented series of judicial recusals.
The first judge to take the case eventually recused herself, passing the matter to a second judge. That judge was followed by a third — Judge Morales-Horowitz — who also recused, after which the case was reassigned to Judge Gordon-Oliver. By early 2020, the last of the three Westchester judges had stepped aside.
Each recusal meant a fresh start: new case review, new scheduling, new delays. Meanwhile, Dad's access to Evie remained severely limited. The visits that did occur — Visit 6 through Visit 16 — were supervised, limited, and subject to constant interference and cancellations by Mom and her family.
Why the Recusals Mattered
Each time a judge recused, the clock reset. New motions had to be filed. New appearances scheduled. The system's built-in delays became a weapon, whether intentionally or not, that kept Dad from his daughter. By the time a new judge in Yonkers finally took the case — one who, unlike every previous judge, actually read the briefs — years had been lost.
The recusals did not occur in isolation. They happened against a backdrop of:
- Six different attorneys representing Mom cycling through the case
- Five court-appointed experts being fired, delicensed, or removed — including Raymond Griffin, the fake substance abuse evaluator whose license was revoked by OASAS
- Mom's escalating series of false claims to police, courts, and child protective services
- Grumpa's open defiance of court orders, telling Grandma Linda he didn't care what the court orders said
A New Judge Brings Hope
Eventually, the case was assigned to Judge Michelle I. Schauer in the Yonkers courthouse. Unlike her predecessors, Judge Schauer read the briefs, admonished Mom, and immediately put an order in place for visits — three remote visits per week for Dad and in-person visits for Grandma Linda.
But the gag order that followed in November 2021, and the continued obstruction by Mom's family, meant that even judicial attention could not easily undo the damage of three years of delay.
This post expands on the "COMING SOON" section from The Courts post, which promised backgrounds on the three judges who recused themselves.