Hon. Denis R. Hurley See Rating Details
District Judge See Comments
E.D.N.Y.  
Average Rating:8.7 - 12 rating(s)
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Ratings

*Temperament:   (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
*Scholarship:   (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
*Industriousness:   (1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
*Ability to Handle Complex Litigation:    (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
*Punctuality:    (1=Chronic`y Late,10=Always on Time)
*Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation:    (1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
*Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation:   (1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Flexibility In Scheduling   (1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)
General Inclination Regarding Bail (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Pre-Trial:   (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Civil Settlement Discussions:   (1=Least Involved,10=Most Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Trial:    (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Sentencing:    (1=Most Lenient,10=Most Harsh)
Typical Discount Off Guidelines for Cooperators:    (1=10%,10=100%)
  Items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating
Comments


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What others have said about Hon. Denis R. Hurley


Comments


Litigant

Comment #: 34389
Rating:10.0
Comments:
Judge Hurley is one of the brightest and even handed judges in our history. Other judges should emulate his ability to listen to the people they work for and get off their high horse attitudes. Enjoy a jd sir.

Other

Comment #: 34259
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Please Judge , don’t give up on us ! WE THE PEOPLE need someone to help us beat this vaccine mandate. What the governor of NY is saying , especially about our hard working nurses and doctors is just unbelievable, and a disgrace . To say that these men and women MUST put something into their bodies that they don’t want ... OR they will be “replaced or given the boot !” How dare she. My daughter is studying to be a nurse. We need you to stop this please ! Thank you !

Litigant

Comment #: 25990
Rating:1.0
Comments:
I am a Defendant in a Regulatory case for a "simple registration violation" that has lasted 8 years. Never in the history of any courts has any singular registration case been submitted to Federal Court, never mind last 8 years. In a related criminal case, Judge Hurley is once again under investigation for "non-merits" related decisions by the Second Circuit and Federal Circuit. The previous Second Circuit complaints were not handled properly in violation of the Judicial Complaint and Disability Act. Hurley has been caught on the record perjuring himself and also having unlawful ex parte communications with the Government.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 12407
Rating:10.0
Comments:
Denis Hurley is a great judge. He's smart, knowledgeable and fair. He's also polite to attorneys and to defendants. Ignore # 9771's comment that Judge Hurley was "wild and out of control" for supposedly considering a 30-year sentence for a crime that called for only 9 years. Judge Hurley actually sentenced the defendant to 10 years.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 9813
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
the Comments of # 9771 are entirely understandable but the fault is not rightly placed on Judge Hurley. I am intimately acquainted with the referenced case and its outcome (the defendant awaits sentencing). The Supreme Court and the Second Circuit have long permitted both uncharged and acquitted conduct to be used to calculate sentencing guidelines. The theory is that the defendant is sentenced for the conduct of conviction but that a court may also consider in determining the guidelines "relevant conduct" -- i.e. conduct that was part of the same course of conduct as was the conduct of conviction -- proven by a preponderance of the evidence. A jury's acquittal means only that the charge was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt and so such conduct might still be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. Just like the defense may ask the court to lower the sentence based on a defendant's good deeds, the prosecution may ask that sentences be increased based on bad deeds.
The problems occur because the "good conduct" is not used to actually lower the guidelines (other than in the case of a departure) but the bad "relevant conduct" often -- as is the case here -- dominates the guidelines calculation. It is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. The other problem is that relatively mundane federal charges carry exorbitant potential sentences of 20 years or more, so a defendant convicted of, say securities fraud and a related conspiracy could be facing 25 + 25 years. His guidelines for the securities fraud might be less than 10 years but the acquitted conduct (say, a murder) has a guideline of life. And so in a very real sense the defendant is in fact being sentenced for the murder even though the courts deny it.
In any event, even when acquitted or uncharged conduct is used to calculate the sentencing guidelines the court need not impose sentence in accordance with the guidelines but can rather impose a non-guidelines sentence that discounts the influence of the acquitted or uncharged conduct. Of course, on appeal the starting point for considering the reasonableness of the sentence would be the guidelines -- determined by reference to the acquitted/uncharged conduct -- and so the judge is making factual findings by a preponderance of the evidence that influence the maximum sentence the appellate court will find reasonable -- a violation of Apprendi et al. that has been recognized by Justices Scalia and Thomas.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 5817
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I represent a plaintiff in a civil action which has been pending for almost
4 years. Judge Hurley has issued several summary judgment decisions. However, due to the fact that he has consistently waived any pre-motion conferences, and because I have never appeared before him in any other matter, I wouldn't know Judge Hurley if we shared box seats on top of
the Met dugout at Shea Stadium. Something is definitely wrong with this fact.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 5025
Rating:9.5
Comments:
I am participating in an ongoing criminal case before Judge Hurley with substantial pretrial motion practice and have won some and lost some. He has been straight down the middle on everything. He has shown infinite patience and demonstrated thoughtfulness and scholarship in his opinions. He has been a pleasure before whom to appear.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 4157
Rating:7.6
Comments:
Polite, patient and collegial. He is somewhat pro government and conservative. Not inclined to use Booker to its full advantage. Hurley is easy to work with and has a good chambers. It is a lawyer friendly place.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 3953
Rating:9.2
Comments:
Except that the rating system seems to "approve" of giving high marks for being unreasonably pro-government, Judge Hurley is clearly a great legal analyst and, once a defendant proves himself or herself, can be very fair.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 2738
Rating:9.0
Comments:
Judge Hurley has a fine legal mind and is demanding of legal scholarship from the attorneys in front of him. Occassionally will take too long (in excess of six months)in rendering a decision on pending motions.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 1198
Rating:5.7
Comments:
fair and on time