Robert Ross, judge in Lohan divorce, dies

State Supreme Court Justice Robert A. Ross, who led a movement to change New York's matrimonial system and presided over the sensational courtroom drama of actress Lindsay Lohan's parents' divorce, died Sunday, his family said. He was 52.

The cause was an aortic aneurysm, said his principal law clerk, Linda Kevins.

Justice Anthony Marano, Nassau's chief administrative judge, said Ross "has left an indelible mark on our court system."

"Judge Ross dedicated his professional life to assisting families in crisis," Marano said. "His compassion and unparalleled knowledge of family and matrimonial law earned him universal respect in the legal community."

In nearly 10 years on the matrimonial bench, Ross, of Nassau County, was perhaps best known as the judge who oversaw the divorce of Michael and Dina Lohan. He made headlines for refusing to admit cameras in the courtroom, issuing a gag order and criticizing Michael Lohan for "selfishness" and being unemployed.

But Ross, the chief Nassau matrimonial judge who sat in Mineola, was less interested in the latest headlines than he was in developing a better court system that helped children through divorces, attorneys and colleagues said.

"This is a huge loss for our community," said Elena Karabatos, the chairwoman of the Nassau County Bar Association's matrimonial committee. "It wasn't just that he was a good jurist. He cared about the practice of law itself and trying to improve it."

In 2004, Ross launched a first-of-its-kind program that encouraged spouses in the most contentious divorces to mediate their disputes outside of court with the help of psychologists and social workers. The goal was to make parents find common ground, with their children's best interests in mind.

A 2008 study by the Center for Court Innovation found the program was "successful in reducing animosity between litigants and moving cases to resolution within a faster, child-focused time frame."

In 2005, Ross was named to a commission of New York judges charged with revamping the state's matrimonial court system, widely regarded as bureaucratic and outdated. Later, Kevins said, he was one of two judges given the task of putting in place the recommendations.

Born in Brooklyn in 1958, Ross grew up in the Far Rockaway section of Queens with two siblings. A Hofstra University School of Law graduate, Ross ran a private law practice in Kew Gardens for 18 years and served as a village justice in Oyster Bay Cove before winning election in 2002 as a Supreme Court justice.

Ross is survived by his wife, Bara; daughters Malina, Hailey and Brielle; his mother, Selma, and siblings Alan and Lenore.

A funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. at Gutterman's in Woodbury.