'You Want Your Mother To Get Deported?': NJ Judge Threatens Children, Families, Complaint Says

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — A Somerset County municipal judge, is accused of yelling at and threatening children and their parents with deportation at truancy hearings, according to judicial charges released on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court of New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct filed the charges against Municipal Court Judge Britt J. Simon on Tuesday for making "repeated threats" and his "abrasive demeanor towards the children" at the hearings.

Simon, who has been practicing law since 2002, was serving as a part-time judge in the shared Municipal Courts of Bridgewater Township, Somerville Borough, and Raritan Borough, as well as Borough of Bound Brook.

He held positions at the shared municipal courts until Feb. 11, when Simon was suspended from his judicial duties in Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties.

The complaint alleges Simon broke several Codes of Judicial Conduct including yelling at children when he was supposed to be addressing the parents, not having a municipal prosecutor present, inquiring about immigration status when it was irrelevant to the case.

"[Simon's] remarks to the defendants and expressions of dissatisfaction with the appearance and attitude of the children who appeared before him, as well as [Simon's] repeated threats and abrasive demeanor towards the children, was discourteous, inappropriate, unprofessional, offensive, and contravened," according to the complaint.

"By his inquiries regarding the immigration status of the defendants and children who appeared before him, which was irrelevant to the proceedings, [Simon] engaged in harassing and injudicious conduct that had the potential to create the appearance of ethnic and/or nationality bias," according to the complaint.

The complaint details three truancy hearings in Bound Brook. In two of the hearings "the defendants were not sworn under oath and there was no adjudication of either case at the time of the appearance. In each of these cases, [Simon] interacted primarily with the children who were alleged to have been chronically absent from school, although their parents were the named defendants."

In one hearing, Simon asked a 16-year-old child if his mother was in the country legally, according to the complaint.

When the child said no, Simon allegedly told the child, "So your mother can get picked up and deported by ICE. That sound like a great idea? You're a wonderful son. I say sarcastically because you're not. You are vile and contemptuous. You want your mother to get deported? You know what's going to happen if she does, right?"

Simon allegedly went on to accuse the child of throwing his chance at having an education in the garbage.

"You're spitting in the face of this country. Would you like me to spit in your face? Somebody's giving you something and you're spitting on it. You are disgusting. So here's what I'm going to do and I'm going to — unlike the other crew that I found to follow up in 30 days, I'm going to refer this to D.Y.F.S., to D.C.P. & P. and at some point they're going to show up at your house, they're going to take you away. Okay? And they may — may report your mother and then at some point, ICE is going to come and pick her up, all because of you," said Simon, according to the complaint.

In another case, in August 2024, Simon allegedly told a female high school student:

"You think you have any future if you drop out of school? You've got no future. You will be left in the garbage. You can hang out behind the Dunkin' Donuts with all the other drunks and riff raff. You think -that's fine? Why are you not going to school? You want to be taken away? I'll have you taken away. They'll put you in a group home in Newark. You better not sleep. Don't close your eyes. I'm not kidding you. You'll have everything you own stolen. You will be beaten. Is that the kind of life you want? You want to go to a Newark group home? Why are you not going to school? Answer me. Answer. "

In another case where a 14-year-old child missed 67 of the last 91 days of school, Simon allegedly said "You miss another day for school and I'm going to personally have ICE here to pick you up. Are we clear?"

In New Jersey, if a child between the ages of six and 16 years, fails to regularly attend school, as compelled by law the parent is subject to a fine of not more than $25 for a first offense and not more than $100 for each subsequent offense.

A request for comment from Simon's attorney was not immediately returned to Patch.