Baby M legal scholar and Monmouth's first female judge dies at 92

Julia Ashbey, a legal trailblazer known for her opinion on the noteworthy Baby M case, died last week at 92. She was Monmouth County's first female judge.

In 1987, along with former judges from the NJ Superior Court’s Appellate Division, Sylvia Pressler and Geoffrey Gaulkin, Ashbey wrote a landmark opinion on the custody of a baby born under a surrogacy agreement.

In 1984, Mary Beth Whitehead responded to an ad in the Asbury Park Press from an infertility center, seeking women willing to help couples have children. After giving birth to a girl, "Baby M" in court papers, Whitehead wanted custody of her, but she had already signed a contract to relinquish maternal rights to Elizabeth and William Stern. In a unanimous decision, Ashbey denied Whitehead’s request for custody, not because of the signed contract, but in the interest of the baby’s long-term well-being.

''We conclude, for the time being, the interests of the child would be best served and protected by affording her the stability of the Sterns' (biological father and adoptive mother) exclusive and uninterrupted nurture,'' the judges wrote.

Another pioneer: Supporters call Lt. Gov. Oliver a 'trailblazer' and 'role model'

Jill Ashbey-Pejoves remembers her mother talking about the case.

“A lot of intellectual debate, it was obviously novel. Most of the conversations and debates were about how the law applied," said Ashbey-Pejoves. "My mother loved how law was a tool to unpack difficult concepts."

Ashbey died on July 24 in her home in Oregon. Surviving are her husband of 66 years, Bill Ashbey, her three daughters, Jill, Anne, and Kate, a son-in-law, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

“She was a huge champion of women. She knew how hard it was to be both a successful professional as a woman and a mother,” daughter Ashbey-Pejoves said. Ashbey broke the glass ceiling for other women and encourage and mentored many women on going back to the workforce, Ashbey-Pejoves added.

The well-being of children was a focus in the legal career of Ashbey, who came from a difficult childhood, said her daughters. In fact, according to Kate Ashbey, Julia’s experience working as a social worker in New York City’s child welfare system was her inspiration to pursue a career in law.

Ashbey had been one of eight women who obtained a law degree from Columbia University in 1956. Soon after, she worked for a prestigious law firm and became staff counsel for the Citizens' Committee for Children of New York before joining the New Jersey judiciary in 1976 as the first female judge of Monmouth County, appointed to the county’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

After more than 30 years devoted to children’s rights, Ashbey retired from the bench in 1992. She lived 30 happy, post-retirement years with the love of her life, Bill Ashbey, her daughters said.

"They were best friends. They were rarely apart. They both spent 30 years after retirement working on charitable causes and traveling the world,” Ashbey-Pejoves said.

When is the next meteor shower? Here's when you'll see Perseids in New Jersey

Julia and Bill Ashbey were fourth-degree cousins. Bill, from Philadelphia, a former New York City investment banker, had an interest in genealogy. He reached out to Julia's mother, and they agreed to meet.

“And as soon as she (Julia) opened the door, he never left. It was love at first sight,” said Kate Ashbey.

After retirement, the Ashbeys left New Jersey for Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, they invested in Spanish Colonial architecture, which they loved. Julia even presided over the Board for Cornerstones, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the architectural heritage and cultural traditions of the greater Southwest.

Ashbey also taught bioethics at the University of New Mexico.

In 2013, the Ashbeys moved to Oregon to live closer to two of their daughters.

Julia was also a member of the Juvenile Delinquency Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, a Trustee of the Legal Aid Society,  and an active member in the Monmouth County Bar Association.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ News: Monmouth County's first female judge Julia Ashbey dies