Scott P. Bittner

I am writing to express my concern about the overall performance of Judge Scott Bittner, a judge in the Somerset County Court in Somerset, Pennsylvania. I believe that Judge Bittner has been explicitly biased against numerous victimized women in his family court decisions. In particular, I am concerned about Judge Bittner's refusal to adhere to the 16 factors that are set forth in the Pennsylvania Family Code when making decisions about child custody and visitation. These factors are designed to ensure that the best interests of the child are always the primary consideration in family court cases. However, Judge Bittner has repeatedly ignored these factors in his decisions, often awarding custody to the father in cases where the mother has been the primary caregiver. This bias has had a devastating impact on many women and children. In one case that I am aware of, Judge Bittner awarded custody of a 5-year-old child to the father, even though the mother had been the primary caregiver for the child since birth. The mother had a stable job and a loving home, while the father had a history of domestic violence and substance abuse. As a result of the judge's decision, the child was forced to live with a father who was abusive and neglectful. I am concerned that Judge Bittner's biased decisions are not only harmful to the women and children involved in his cases, but they also undermine the integrity of the judicial system. Pennsylvania needs to do better. Accepting this sort of bias to exist in our court system is unacceptable.