Fil-Am judge in New Jersey nabbed for 'interfering' with arrest of man she was dating

SOMERVILLE, N.J. — The first Philippine-born Superior Court judge in New Jersey has been suspended without pay after getting arrested last week for allegedly hindering the apprehension of an armed robbery suspect. Judge Carlia Magpantay Brady, 41, who was appointed to the Middlesex County bench in February, was arrested on June 11 at her Woodbridge home for interfering with police who were seeking to arrest the man, whom she has been dating, according to law enforcement officials. She was immediately suspended without pay from her $165,000-a-year job. Last Wednesday, Brady’s attorney Robert Scrivo entered a not guilty plea and said his client will fight the charge of second degree hindering apprehension. Scrivo, a former Bergenfield prosecutor, is president of the Essex County Bar Association and a partner with the Morristown-based law firm of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter. Donning a business suit, Brady did not speak and showed no signs of emotion during her arraignment that barely lasted five minutes.     Presiding Somerset County Superior Court Judge Robert Reed ordered Brady not to leave New Jersey as the case proceeds and told her to surrender her passport by last Friday. Reed noted that Brady was to be released on her own recognizance pending the outcome of the case, with no bail required. The suspect in the armed robbery, Jason Prontnicki, 41, was arrested at Brady’s Coolidge Avenue home. Authorities said Brady harbored Prontnicki for about an hour without making any attempt to contact police. Prontnicki is charged with robbing an Old Bridge pharmacy on April 29. A police report said a man wielding a crowbar entered the pharmacy at about 7 p.m. and demanded drugs. Authorities later identified Prontnicki as a suspect and secured a warrant for his arrest. The suspended judge knew Prontnicki was a wanted man but failed to notify authorities of his whereabouts, the sources said. As of last week Prontnicki was being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to the correctional center’s records department. Topnotch lawyer Before rising to Superior Court judge, Brady, a divorcee, was an attorney with the Lawrenceville firm of Stark & Stark, working in the accident and personal injury group. “She had a good track record as a lawyer,” said State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), chairman of the Senate judiciary committee. Brady was approved unanimously by the committee, and Scutari recalled her confirmation hearing as “uneventful.” He added, “I think just as anybody else, Judge Brady has a right to a full vetting of the facts.” Gov. Chris Christie appointed Brady to the bench. Asked about the suspension, his spokesman, Michael Drewniak, said: “If the accusations about a sitting Superior Court judge are true, then the conduct is deplorable and frankly, stupid.” Brady is the second Fil-Am to serve in the State Superior Court after retired Judge Patricia Medina Talbert, originally from Hawaii, who served in Essex County Superior Court. She was born in San Carlos, Negros Occidental, Philippines, and moved with her family to New Jersey in 1976 when she was 6 years old. A colleague said Brady “is an exceptional attorney with a solid trial work experience. She possesses sharp intellect, level temperament, and an objective viewpoint critical to be a successful judge. She will be a tremendous asset to the Superior Court.” She was listed in the New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. Brady earned her law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1997. She has degrees in English and accounting from Rutgers College/Rutgers School of Business. She has participated in numerous legal outreach panels hosted by the Fil-Am community, recently with the Philippine Community of Southern New Jersey. A board member on the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey, she’s also a board member of the New Jersey Association for Justice, leading the women and minority concerns committees. - Filipino Reporter