Bad judge up for reelection
Brad Astrowsky will be up for reappointment in Maricopa County, Arizona
A bad judge is up for reelection in Arizona.
Brad Astrowsky will be on the ballot in the election on November 8, 2022.
In Maricopa County Arizona, incumbent judges face an up or down vote. Here is more from the local Fox station.
Depending on where you live in Arizona, the answer is different.
According to the Arizona Judicial Branch's website, justices for the Arizona Supreme Court, as well as Court of Appeals judges, and Superior Court judges in Coconino, Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal Counties are appointed by the governor from lists of nominees screened and selected by public committees.
"Once appointed, the judges are retained or rejected by the voters every four years for these four superior courts, and every six years for the appellate courts," read a portion of the website.
One judge up for reelection is Brad Astrowsky.
His retention election has caught the attention of several people.
Malinda Shrewyn, writing on her Substack, has encouraged her readers to vote no on Astrowsky.
NO-Judge Astrowsky: The court watch community has seen Astrowsky in a family context place children in the hands of named, identified, abusers on the recommendation of a favored, third party appointees and a biased attorneys. He suppressed material evidence presented to him including, medical, psychological and police reports. Now, he is ruling on disputes between political parties regarding our election processes.
Judge Astrowsky’s upcoming election has also caught the attention of local press.
The past four years for the Arizona Superior Court judge who ruled in favor of the retirement home Mirabella at ASU in its lawsuit against Shady Park have been controversial, to say the least.
Weeks after ruling on the Mirabella vs. Shady Park case, the judge stepped down from it to avoid the appearance of bias. In 2021, the judge presided over a custody case involving the children of a former MLB player who were sent to a problematic family reunification camp. And in 2019, a commission overseeing judicial conduct found the judge was four months late in filing a decision for a divorce case — violating state policy.
Now the judge, Brad Astrowsky, is on this year's ballot to keep his position in the court.
Astrowsky was appointed by former Gov. Jan Brewer in 2012. He has overseen civil cases since 2019 but has made rulings in family, criminal and juvenile courts.
Superior Court judges serve four-year terms, and Astrowsky is one of 47 Superior Court judges in Maricopa County up for retention, the judicial version of reelection. In retention elections, judges run unopposed without a party affiliation.
I tangled with Judge Astrowsky last year when I covered David Segui’s child custody case.
As this local paper, the State Press, noted, he switched custody haphazardly and sent Segui’s two children to Family Bridges, which is unlicensed reunification camp run by a quack, Randy Rand, whose own license was not removed after he was accused of malfeasance.
Not only has Astrowsky put that family into chaos, but he was also accused of engaging in improper sexual relationships with staff, lawyers, and others who came into his courtroom.
"It's well known in the court that Stromfors and Astrowsky have not only worked together but have carried on a personal relationship outside the courtroom," the anonymous person states, "This was going on while he was married. He was very flirtatious with all the women in the courthouse."
Judges are routinely all over the US retained in these sorts of election; let’s see if this corrupt judge faces a different fate.