The O’Toole Chronicles: Judge Lisa Thornton, The Real Deal

I was shocked to my core, as so many were, when we heard the tragic news of the untimely passing of Judge Lisa Thornton.

It is with absolute shock and sadness that I write about her today – in the past tense.

My initial thoughts took me back to when I first met Judge Thornton, under unique circumstances that highlighted the very best of her character and the void now left in so many lives.

Most of the time, Senate Judiciary Committee votes for reappointment of Superior Court Judges are uneventful.  However, one such hearing in 2016 was far from the mundane.

Years ago, there was a New Jersey Superior Court Judge that awarded custody of children to a known mobster, who admitted to murder, testified against fellow mobsters, and went to prison. Websites and Facebook pages were devoted to protesting this particular Family Court Judge, Judge Paul Escandon. Dozens of members of the public came to the Judiciary Committee hearing to testify against his reappointment and committee members read aloud newspaper headlines and excerpts from the New York Post – it was quite a scene.  After hours of testimony and questioning, the fate of Judge Paul Escandon’s tenure was not looking good. In fact, his reappointment hearing was carried over to a second hearing – NEVER a good sign.

Those were the circumstances under which I met Lisa Thornton, then Assignment Judge of the Monmouth County Vicinage, where Judge Escandon sat.

Judge Escandon had awarded temporary custody to the father because the mother was in violation of her custody order. The father had a checkered past, a past the ex-wife knew about when they married. A past that still afforded him a custody agreement where he had parenting time with his children, including overnights, weekends, and vacations. But those facts don’t make for good copy and had not seen the light of day during Judge Escandon’s first hearing.

In light of the fierce testimony against Judge Escandon, then-Judiciary Chairman Nick Scutari, who always gave wide latitude to committee members and the public, held the vote over to another day so that more due diligence could be done.

As luck would have it, due to a personal obligation, I missed that initial Judiciary Meeting. In preparation for the next hearing, I asked for all the background information and transcripts. I also asked for the entire file in question. As was my practice, I remember requesting to interview Judge Escandon, and Judge Thornton offered to assist in the process.

I will never forget, as my Chief of Staff, Al Barlas and I gathered all the documents and read every opinion, we determined that Judge Eacandon was not getting a fair shake based on all the information and the media story was incomplete.

On the day of our meeting, Judge Thornton drove up with Judge Escandon and we spent a few hours unpacking every ruling, public statement, newspaper story, and Facebook post of the pending nominee. Going over 7 years of work of a Family Court Judge can be pretty intense. The knowledge that Judge Escandon had of his cases was impressive. He was able to explain all of his decisions, displaying his knowledge of the law as well as the thoughtful/reasoned approach he took to reach his conclusions.

You would think that Judge Thornton would be there to block and tackle for her Judge. To stand in front of any tough, and at times uncomfortable, questions I was posing to him. She never did. She did what a leader does, she let him answer for himself and backed him up – when appropriate.

Judge Thornton talked about the much-hyped decision and detailed the case from the very start. She provided invaluable information on Judge Eacandon’s decision, highlighting that the decision was upheld by the Appellate Court and he was simply carrying forward the order put in place by another judge. The case in question wasn’t even his case to start with. Judge Thornton was honest about her Judge. She was honest in describing his strengths and brutally blunt on where she felt he needed to improve. Most importantly, she gave him the credibility she herself had built up with me. Her candor in that meeting said everything you needed to know about her, as a person and as a leader.

With the aide of Judge Thornton, we managed to get the votes to move Judge Escandon out of committee.  Justice was served and Judge Thornton led the way.

In the practice of law and serving in the Legislature, I have come across hundreds of judges, but Judge Thornton stands out the most when traits like honesty, leadership, intelligence, and compassion are accounted for.  That is why since leaving the Senate, I made it a point to keep in touch with Judge Thornton. I enjoyed our discussions, which revealed her beautiful personality and character. As a matter of fact, we exchanged texts two weeks before her passing during which she remarked about caring for her mom and the fragility of life.

Don’t let this glowing commentary fool you. Lisa Thornton was no dummy. She knew exactly who to defend and who not to. She went out of her way to spend time with all the judges in her vicinage, to get to know them as people. In part because she cared, but also to suss out which were the good ones and which were the bullshitters, a critical determination for any assignment judge.

Judge Lisa Thornton was the perfect Assignment Judge. We should honor her spirit and professionalism in a way that would make her smile.

Lisa Thornton was the real deal.