When the Judge Becomes the Abuser: My Firsthand Account of Retaliation, Defamation, and Systemic Failure in Summit County

The title of “judge” carries with it a sacred duty—to uphold justice, preserve impartiality, and protect the innocent. But what happens when the one who wears the robe becomes the very force that violates the public trust? I never imagined I’d be forced to write these words, but the truth demands to be spoken.

This is not just my story. This is a warning.

The Day My Children Were Taken Without Cause

In May 2022, I walked into a scheduled one-hour hearing in front of Magistrate Elisa Hill. Unbeknownst to me, Judge Susan K. Steinhauer had quietly taken over the case. What was supposed to be a 30-minute-per-side emergency hearing turned into a surprise all-day trial in which the opposing party and his attorneys were fully prepared—with eight witnesses lined up and ready to testify. I had no idea. No fair warning. No due process .

By June 8, 2022, Judge Steinhauer issued a ruling that stripped me, the primary caregiver, of custody of my two sons-in spite of a standing protection order. In an appalling case of contradiction, she handed my sons to a man she gave me a new protection order against. He was dangerous enough to issue me a protection order against but then handed my sons to him full custody and stripped me of my parental rights completely. Her justification? Not abuse. Not neglect. Not incapacity. No substantiated claim of harm. No evidence of wrongdoing. She based her decision on a text message where I said I dreamed of living near a beach one day to feel happy.

Meanwhile, the father—who had a long-documented history of domestic violence, drug abuse, gun access, suicide threats including a tri-county-wide bolo search in 2019, and erratic behavior—was granted full custody. No safety review. No trauma evaluation for my children. Just a signature, and my entire world collapsed.

But it didn’t end there.

The Retaliation: A False Protection Order Filed to Silence Me

When I began gathering evidence and preparing to file a judicial grievance against Susan Steinhauer for her conduct on the bench—including her illegal conversions of the hearing outside the court with my lawyer and others, lack of notice, and abuse of discretion—she retaliated.

She filed a Civil Protection Order (CPO) against me, based on false, defamatory, and completely unsubstantiated claims.

She accused me of being a threat to her safety—claims that mirrored the same false allegations she used in her prior courtroom rulings. This wasn’t about protection. This was about silencing a whistleblower. Her actions were textbook retaliation by a public official abusing her power to suppress accountability.

And again, she faced no consequences.

The Defamation Continues—Even After Leaving the Bench

Long after her resignation and public conflict of interest were exposed (she took a job as a partner at the very law firm representing the opposing party in my custody case, Roderick Linton Belfance), I learned that Judge Steinhauer continues to monitor and stalk my social media activity, specifically my public Facebook page.

When she discovered I was attending a political event with the Vice President of the United States, she launched a whisper campaign of defamation.

She told multiple individuals that I was:

• A danger to national security

• A drug addict

• Someone who would “cause a scene”

None of which are true.

I was told by several credible sources, independently, that her slanderous remarks reached prominent community members and professionals. And yet, those who were actually at the event confirmed the opposite: I was calm, composed, and engaged respectfully. No disruption. No incident. Nothing to support her malicious rumors.

Her defamatory statements are not only false—they’re dangerous. They are an attempt to undermine my credibility, discredit my voice, and paint me as unstable in the eyes of the public and legal institutions. This is not just gossip. This is character assassination by a former judge abusing her perceived authority.

A County Prosecutor Has Seen It—Still, No Justice

Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich is a material witness to these events. He has seen the court filings. He has been made aware of the violations. He knows the timeline and the retaliatory actions taken and was present on the evening of the public event. Steinhauer attended and filed a false protective order with false allegations that did not occur with hundreds of witnesses present to corroborate that nothing happened that evening. And yet—nothing.

Judge Susan Steinhauer has not been charged with perjury.

She has not been held accountable for abusing her judicial office to secure future employment with a firm involved in her courtroom decisions.

She has not faced discipline for filing a false protection order or defaming a private citizen for political retaliation.

We Must Eliminate Judicial Immunity

It is time for this nation to wake up. Judicial immunity is not a shield for criminal conduct. It was never intended to protect retaliatory false filings, unethical employment transitions, or the destruction of a parent’s reputation and family without cause.

Judges who:

• Weaponize protection orders to silence critics

• Issue custody decisions based on personal assumptions, not facts

• Accept employment with parties they previously ruled in favor of

• Use their former title to defame private citizens for political or personal gain

… must be investigated, removed, and prosecuted if necessary.

I Wait for Justice. But I Will Not Wait in Silence.

I write this not as a victim, but as a mother, an advocate, and a voice for every parent who has suffered in silence while the courts protect their own.

I will not be intimidated.

I will not be erased.

I will not stop fighting for justice—for my children, for myself, and for every family who has endured the trauma of judicial misconduct.

The people of Summit County, and this nation, deserve better.