A Florida judge is facing criticism after asking a domestic violence suspect for cooking advice during a court hearing, including how to grill the perfect steak.
Broward County Judge Allison Gilman launched into an unexpected conversation with Christopher Johnson as he appeared Monday for a bond hearing on a domestic battery charge.
Johnson, a chef at a Florida sports bar, was arrested after allegedly pulling his ex-girlfriend’s hair and punching her in the mouth, leaving her with a busted lip, according to Sunrise police.
“If you were going to cook me a dish, what would it be?” Gilman asked, according to court footage obtained by WSVN.
“To make food, I’m gonna start with steak on the grill, man,” Johnson replied.
The discussion soon turned from what Johnson might cook to the judge’s own difficulties preparing steak on a grill.
“Steak on the grill. Right. See, I either burn it on the outside and then it’s not cooked enough on the inside, or I just overcook it,” Gilman said.
Johnson appeared to explain a grilling technique, gesturing as he described turning the steak between the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions.
“You mean turn the steak?” Gilman asked.
“Ten o’clock, two o’clock,” Johnson repeated.
“Ten o’clock, two o’clock. So you keep it on the same side and you turn it. But are you flipping it? Do you flip it?,” Gilman replied.
The judge then raised another question about achieving the right texture.
“How do you not make a steak chewy? That’s also another — but that’s for another day, I guess,” Gilman said.
Gilman set Johnson’s bond at $1,500 and asked whether he could afford it. He answered, “Yes.”
“Of course you can. With those kinds of things you’re cooking,” she said, adding that she would “have to” visit Johnson’s workplace for a meal.
The unusual exchange has since sparked criticism from domestic violence advocates.
Dr. Linda Parker, CEO of Women in Distress, called the conversation inappropriate given the allegations against Johnson.
“Turn the steak? What? We’re talking about steak in a domestic violence case? It just tells survivors, ‘I may not get the justice that I need,’” she told the outlet.
“This is not indicative of how this should look at all and I hope that something gets said to the judge,” Parker added.
Gilman was elected to the Broward County Court bench in 2020. She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Florida State University and a law degree from St. Thomas University, and previously worked as a criminal defense attorney.
Johnson was previously arrested for aggravated battery involving the same woman when she was pregnant with their child, according to court records obtained by WSVN.
He has since been released on bond and was ordered to have no contact with the victim.
The steak talk was not Gilman’s first food-related courtroom exchange, either.
Earlier this month, while presiding over an unrelated case involving a man who said he worked at a seafood restaurant, the judge joked that she was not going to get into her “shrimp-making abilities.”