Judge Michelle I. Schauer
Court: Supreme Court, Family Division
Location: Westchester County, New York
Judge Michelle Schauer’s name has become synonymous with systemic rights violations in New York family court. After being recused from the custody case of disabled father Marc Fishman in 2018, she inexplicably reinserted herself into the matter in 2025—and immediately resumed a disturbing pattern of discrimination and unlawful conduct. In a temporary custody order issued on May 20, 2025, Judge Schauer barred Fishman from accessing his twin sons’ school records and online portals—an order in direct violation of FERPA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These federal laws guarantee parental access to educational records and prohibit disability-based discrimination, especially from state-funded courts and federally funded attorneys. Schauer ignored all of it.
Fishman, who suffers from cognitive, visual, and hearing impairments, had already successfully sued Schauer in federal court in 2021 for refusing to provide basic ADA accommodations in court—such as note-taking support and transcription. That lawsuit resulted in a ruling from the Second Circuit mandating Schauer and the Office of Court Administration to comply with federal law. Rather than adhere, Schauer has escalated her hostility, aligning with publicly funded attorneys like Virginia Foulkrod of Hudson Valley Justice Center (recipient of over $1.3 million in federal/state funding) to strip a disabled parent of his federally protected rights. Legal experts and disability advocates have sounded the alarm: Schauer is not just biased—she is dangerous. Her return to Fishman’s case and her ongoing contempt for federal mandates make her a high-profile threat to due process, equal access, and the foundational rule of law.
ALWD-Style Citations:
Michael Phillips, Justice Denied in Westchester: The Cruel Campaign Against Marc Fishman, The Thunder Report (July 6, 2025), https://thunderreport.org/2025/07/06/justice-denied-in-westchester-the-cruel-campaign-against-marc-fishman/.
Michael Phillips, No Order, No Appeal: The Quiet Corruption of Judge Shopping in Westchester Family Court, The Thunder Report (June 30, 2025), https://thunderreport.org/2025/06/30/no-order-no-appeal-the-quiet-corruption-of-judge-shopping-in-westchester-family-court/.
Michael Phillips, The Lawless Bench: Judge Michelle Schauer’s Federal Rights Violations Against a Disabled Father Must Be Investigated, The Thunder Report (May 20, 2025), https://thunderreport.org/2025/05/20/the-lawless-bench-judge-michelle-schauers-federal-rights-violations-against-a-disabled-father-must-be-investigated/.
Michael Phillips, When Judges Judge Their Own Cases: Why Recusal Rules Fail in Family Court, The Thunder Report (May 15, 2025), https://thunderreport.org/2025/05/15/when-judges-judge-their-own-cases-why-recusal-rules-fail-in-family-court/.
Michael Phillips, A Father in Court Alone: The High-Stakes Struggle of Marc Fishman, The Thunder Report (May 12, 2025), https://thunderreport.org/2025/05/12/a-father-in-court-alone-the-high-stakes-struggle-of-marc-fishman/.
