She's been beaten and robbed on the streets of Center City - twice. She's been punched in the head while sitting in her car. She's had her chambers taken over by a deranged woman who donned her judicial robes.

And now, at almost 79, the senior Family Court jurist has been assaulted by her own son, police say. Moreover, the day after his arrest, he exposed himself on camera to a TV reporter. It's a monster hit on YouTube.

Hear ye, hear ye: Is the Honorable Lisa Richette a magnet for mayhem or just unlucky?

"If I were an actuary, I'd have a hard time giving her insurance," says former longtime Inquirer columnist Clark DeLeon, who periodically wrote about Richette.

To local criminal defense attorney Andrew Gay, who has argued many cases before the flamboyant judge, Richette doesn't go looking for trouble. Trouble goes looking for her.

This time, it didn't have far to look.

Lawrence Richette allegedly attacked his mother at her Center City home Aug. 21. Taken by paramedics to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, she received stitches for a cut above her eye, according to police.

Charged with simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, Lawrence Richette was released on his own recognizance Aug. 22, his 48th birthday. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 29.

The only child of Judge Richette and her late husband, lawyer Lawrence J. Richette, Richette has a history of legal troubles, some involving alcohol or drug use.

When contacted for comment, he said, "Leave my mother and me the hell alone," then hung up. Judge Richette did not return repeated messages left on her home answering machine.

Family acquaintances describe the mother-son relationship as volatile. Both are known for their mercurial moods. Judge Richette was hospitalized for depression in the late '70s.

DeLeon recalls a night about 15 years ago when Judge Richette, "looking kind of frantic," walked into Dirty Frank's, a bar at 13th and Pine Streets, in search of a public phone.

She told DeLeon that she and her son had gotten into an argument as they were driving, and that he had broken off the key in the ignition and bolted, DeLeon says.

DeLeon and several others pushed the vehicle from the middle of 13th Street to the curb. "That's when I knew the rumors [about their problematic relationship] were true," he says.

Fortunato Perri Jr., Richette's attorney, says his client and Judge Richette get along well and spend a great deal of time together. He helps her with her "day-to-day needs and activities," Perri says.

Throughout her 36 years on the bench, Richette, a devout Catholic, has been notable for her deep compassion - particularly for women, children and the homeless. Her son is no exception; she is said to be very protective of him.

"He does no wrong, in her eyes," says West Chester criminal defense lawyer Samuel C. Stretton, a veteran of Richette's courtroom.

Not surprisingly, Richette's compassion, as well as her vocal opposition to the death penalty, has made her popular with area defense lawyers. They usually opt for nonjury trials when she's presiding.

Attorney David Rudovsky praises her independence and willingness to make controversial decisions. Stretton calls her "a pioneer in juvenile rights" and says her groundbreaking 1969 book, The Throwaway Children, is still used as a textbook in many colleges.