A custody case changed venues after claims that the boy whose custody is in dispute was homicidal or suicidal. The case has changed courts within New York, a move initiated by the state's deputy chief administrative judge, said a spokesman for the court system.

The case revolves around a 10-year-old boy and a child custody case that has been in litigation since 2007. The boy's parents separated in 2002 and an agreement was signed making the mother the main caretaker of the boy. In 2007, however, a judge switched custody to the father without a hearing. The boy had been diagnosed with mild autism and the parents disagreed on how he should be treated. The father insisted the boy was normal while the mother wanted special care for him.

When combined with a doctor's reported stating the boy was "slightly underweight" and his teeth were discolored, the judge decided to change custody. While the arrangement was meant to be temporary, the case had been stalled since then. When the judge told the boy that he would not go back to his mother, he became distraught.

According to the boy's mother, the boy's mental state had been deteriorating since that interaction with the judge. She said that he talked about killing himself or his father. That prompted the state's deputy chief administrative judge to transfer the case to a different judge.

This is not the first case where the same judge has made a controversial decision that led to threats of harm. Also in 2007, the judge placed a toddler with her father, despite recommendations to the contrary from all involved. The mother later had the father killed and the custody decision was presented as motive at the murder trial.

Source: New York Daily News, "Judge Sidney Strauss pulled from Queens custody battle after 10-year-old boy's talk of suicide," Oren Yaniv, Jan. 9, 2012