New Jersey mother Monica Ciardi, originally jailed over a Facebook post and now facing thirty-three years in prison on charges levied by her police and politically-connected ex-husband and alleged abuser, is finally set to be arraigned before Judge Michael L. Ravin at the Essex County Veterans Courthouse in Newark on March 20, 2025, at 9:00 AM.
Veterans Courthouse in Essex County, NJ
Ciardi’s supporters argue that she is an NJ Family Court Hostage, and her case is a politically motivated attack meant to silence her for exposing corruption in the New Jersey Family Court system.
Judge Michael L. Ravin
Court watchers are demanding public access to her hearing, citing the constitutional right to open criminal proceedings.
NJ Family Court Hostage: A Case of Weaponized Justice?
Ciardi’s prosecution has raised alarms among legal experts, journalists, and judicial reform activists. Critics claim her indictment was politically driven to protect her ex-husband, John Uanis, a police firearms instructor with deep ties to Morris County law enforcement.
“The judiciary must operate in the daylight,” investigative journalist Richard Luthmann said on The Unknown Podcast. “This case is a prime example of why transparency is essential.”
Protective Mom Monica Ciardi and her children
Legal experts say Ciardi’s due process rights have been trampled, with secret court hearings and a judicial system more interested in silencing her than seeking justice.
Her new attorney, Casey Breslow, a former Essex County prosecutor, now represents her in what some believe is little more than a dystopian episode of “Let’s Make a Deal.”
The Facebook Post That Led to 33 Years in Prison
Ciardi’s alleged crime? Originally, it was a Facebook post criticizing the Morris County judges overseeing her custody case:
“Judge Bogaard and Judge DeMarzo: If you don’t do what I want, then you don’t get to see your kids. Hmm.”
Prosecutors argued this was a “terroristic threat,” but Ciardi’s defenders insisted she was simply repeating what the judges told her in court—without quotation marks.
NJ Judge Peter Bogaard
Those charges didn’t stick. But now Monica Ciardi faces a five-count felony indictment that could land her in prison for 33 years. The charges include three counts of second-degree falsely incriminating another, one count of fourth-degree contempt, and one disorderly persons contempt offense.
Each second-degree charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, while the fourth-degree charges add up to 18 months each.
At the center of these allegations is John Uanis, Ciardi’s ex-husband and the sole complaining witness. Uanis, a police firearms instructor with deep ties to Morris County law enforcement, claims that Ciardi fabricated abuse allegations against him.
However, video evidence exists of their children reporting Uanis’ abuse to the Mendham Township Police, raising serious concerns about the legitimacy of the charges and whether the indictment was procured through fraud and political influence.
“She’s facing up to 33 years in prison,” podcast co-host Michael Volpe said. “She was just exposing the insanity of family court.”
Sources confirm that Ciardi has been offered a felony plea deal—one that could allow for her release but could strip her of her parental rights permanently.
“She either takes the deal and risks never seeing her kids again or sticks it out and faces death,” Luthmann added. “That’s not justice. That’s extortion and attempted institutional homicide.”
NJ Family Court Hostage: Institutional DARVO
Dr. Jill Jones Soderman, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Child Victims of the Family Courts (FCVFC), provided a scathing analysis of the latest developments in the Monica Ciardi case.
“Monica Ciardi is a textbook example of a mother being railroaded by a corrupt system that protects abusers and punishes whistleblowers. The fact that she is facing 33 years in prison while the documented abuser walks free is an obscene miscarriage of justice,” Dr. Soderman said.
She says this is a form of DARVO—Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender—a psychological manipulation tactic commonly used by abusers to evade accountability. DARVO occurs when a perpetrator denies wrongdoing, attacks the victim’s credibility, and then reverses the roles, portraying themselves as the real victim while painting the actual victim as the aggressor.
In the Monica Ciardi case, her ex-husband John Uanis appears to have used DARVO to deflect abuse allegations by turning the legal system against Ciardi, branding her as a criminal while avoiding scrutiny of his own documented actions.
“This is institutional DARVO at its worst—where the true victim is framed as the perpetrator, and the abuser is shielded by the very system that is supposed to protect children. We at the FCVFC have seen this pattern play out time and time again. But the New Jersey government’s level of coordination and malfeasance in the Ciardi case is staggering,” Dr. Soderman said.
Judge Bogaard: A Corrupt Power Broker?
Luthmann and Volpe dedicated much of The Unknown Podcast to exposing Judge Peter Bogaard, the Morris County judge who played a central role in Ciardi’s family court nightmare.
“Judge Bogaard basically told Monica Ciardi straight to her face: ‘If you don’t do what I say, you will never see your children again,’” Luthmann said.
Bogaard has been accused of blatant abuses of power, judicial retaliation, and conflicts of interest.
According to sources, Bogaard interfered in a separate criminal case, demanding the names of sex crimes investigators—something legal experts say is highly irregular and unethical.
“That’s not how it works,” Volpe said. “A judge isn’t supposed to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation.”
Luthmann also revealed a suspicious financial transaction involving Bogaard’s wife, Lori Bogaard.
“Thirty days after taking a high-profile case, Lori Bogaard suddenly owned a Florida condo,” Luthmann said. “And guess who put up the down payment? The litigants in the case.”
“This may not be outright bribery,” Volpe added, “but it’s damn close.”
NJ Family Court Hostage: Ties to Chris Christie and Political Favoritism
Bucco and Christie
Luthmann and Volpe linked Bogaard to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his brother Todd Christie, who previously propositioned Monica for sex while they were both married.
“Judge Bogaard, Senator Anthony Bucco, and Christie’s circle have been running Morris County like a crooked family business,” Luthmann said. “And when someone like Monica Ciardi threatens to expose them, they make sure she gets locked up.”
Christie’s political machine has long been accused of using judicial appointments to control the courts.
According to Luthmann, the corruption is systemic.
Judge Oliviera sworn in in Morris County by her father.
“Judge Bogaard’s replacement, Judge Oliviera, was apparently installed in a ‘midnight appointment’ shepherded by Bucco, ensuring the same political favoritism continues unchecked in Morris County,” Luthmann said.
NJ Family Court Hostage: Judicial Retaliation Against Critics
Authorities have reportedly monitored Luthmann’s work, suggesting the New Jersey judiciary views him as a threat for exposing judicial corruption.
In a March 3rd letter, the New Jersey Court & Judicial Security Unit threatened investigative journalist Richard Luthmann with criminal prosecution in retaliation for exposing the secretive court hearings in Ciardi’s case.
The letter, unsigned by court officials, accuses Luthmann of violating New Jersey’s Media Directive #06-24 by discussing court proceedings that were secretly closed to the public. Luthmann issued the “Court Security Unit” a scathing response:
This correspondence may have been sent in error. I am concerned that the purported Administrator on the top of the letterhead (Judge Grant) has left your unit. The letter is unsigned. Is this a forgery or a “spoof”?
Additionally, I call your attention to N.J.S.A. 2C:21-21(1)(f) and the safe harbor provisions on the Anti-Piracy Act, particularly for broadcasters/media members, archival purposes, and where there is no pecuniary gain.
I would note for the record that the New Jersey Courts engage in the regular publication of court proceedings at https://www.njcourts.gov/public/channels. These livestreams are publicly released to all the world without caveat. They are separate and distinct from NJ Courts Zoom Sessions where the Judges and the Court Clerks retain control of who is in and out of the “virtual courtroom” and can remove participants to the “virtual lobby.”
“I suspect this unit is under orders to treat me like an ‘undesirable’ because I am exposing the highly politicized nature of the New Jersey courts. Some, including a certain man who lives on Pennsylvania Avenue, would call it LAWFARE,” Luthmann said.
Luthmann says he’s got thick enough skin to deal with these affronts to investigative journalism and press freedom.
“I’m fine with it, as long as it remains a bumbling letter-writing campaign,” Luthmann said. “The email ‘security.court-judicial@njcourts.gov‘ has become one of my most avid followers. The least I can do is entertain these pricks while they’re on government time.”
Journalists investigating family court misconduct say they have been targeted with legal threats from the New Jersey judiciary.
“They are trying to shut down anyone exposing their racket,” Volpe said.
Dr. Soderman also condemned the secrecy of the New Jersey courts, calling for immediate intervention by federal authorities.
“The closed-door hearings, the judicial hit-list, the targeted persecution of journalists—this is not the rule of law. This is lawfare, designed to silence critics and destroy parents who dare to expose corruption. Every citizen should be outraged. Every parent should be terrified. If they can do this to Monica Ciardi, they can do it to anyone.”
NJ Family Court Hostage: Family Court Fraud Warrior Project Steps In
Weigel believes that Ciardi’s case is a test run for further weaponization of the courts against parents who speak out.
It is important to note that without people like Dave Weigel and Dr. Jill Jones Soderman, our journalism would not be possible. Both groups, the Family Court Fraud Warrior Project and the Foundation for the Child Victims of the Family Courts, have come under scrutiny by New Jersey’s “Secret Court Police.”
Call to Action: Court Watchers Mobilize
With Ciardi’s arraignment just days away, activists are urging court watchers to:
Attend the hearing in person
Demand public access
Demand an NJCourts.gov Livestream to be provided for transparency and archival purposes
Legal experts warn that if Ciardi’s case remains hidden behind closed doors, it could set a dangerous precedent for future cases.
“This case is about more than one mother,” Weigel said. “It’s about whether our courts operate in the dark or in the light.”
Supporters of judicial transparency are urging concerned citizens to contact Judge Michael L. Ravin’s chambers and request that Monica Ciardi’s arraignment be publicly accessible:
Call Judge Michael L. Ravin’s Chambers: (973) 776-9300 ext. 56860
