The Robing Room

Hon. Frederick J. Scullin, Jr.	See Rating Details
District Judge	See Comments
N.D.N.Y.
Average Rating:4.0 - 18 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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*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. Frederick J. Scullin, Jr.

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 26820
Rating:2.2

Comments:
Judge Scullen is a protector of the Federal Government. Our case was the US Airways Pilots vs. PBGC. Scullen could care less about our fact of the case. The facts were that PBGC failed to do the fiduciary job in investigating the collapse of the why our pension. Judge Scullen was observed “surfing” the internet instead of listening properly to witnesses. Very disappointed. He showed a preference for the PBGC from the start.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 25570
Rating:2.5

Comments:
Scullin is basically just a lazy old fraud. His goal in any proceeding is to get by with as little work as humanly possible. He's also as arrogant as they come. A string of recent reversals won't change that.

Litigant

Comment #: 21851
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I watched Judge Scullin for 3 days as a complex trail was in session. During those 3 days, the only time the Judge looked up from his computer was when he called recess. He paid little if any attention to detail and took 16 months to render a judgment and that was only after our attorneys had to remind him there even was a trial. He paid so little attention to the proceedings that I don't believe he even knew the details before passing judgment. We knew going in that the government would protect the government and it just show how corrupt and the legal system has become in our country. I have lost all faith in justice.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 21831
Rating:4.5

Comments:
I've been involved in a case USAPA v. PBGC for the past several years. Judge Scullin heard this case in February of 2013, promising a speedy decision. It's June of 2014, and we have yet to have this judge to rule on this case.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 21827
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I don't think he's pro Defense, necessarily. I think he is just lazy, so he'll sometimes pick one lawyer he trusts more than the other and defer a lot to him. It saves him a lot of time and thinking. He's a blowhard, but for all the "no nonsense guy" playacting he does, his cases tend to be chaos while judges who barely open their mouths have smooth trials. He'll never understand that it's about earning respect, not putting on a front.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 19086
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Extremely slow. Seemingly disorganized docket. Courtroom demeanor smug, patina of arrogance. Civil, but hardly respectful of the officers of the court. Projects as though he will move docket with alacrity--in reality, just the opposite.

Other

Comment #: 9746
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I am not a citizen of upstate NY but I was disgusted to read that he ruled in favor of Willet Dairy last year and ordered the citizens that filed a complaint to pay some of the dairy's legal fees. The national attention to this case should bring a firestorm on this judge for allowing Willet Dairy's horrible practices to continue.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 8807
Rating:2.3

Comments:
Why do senators think that prosecutors would make good judges? His decisions are predictably pro-defendant in civil actions. Its as though he is constantly distracted by himself! I have seen litigants wait years for a decision on cases that should take 2 days to figure out - issue of fact - and still he got it wrong.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 6293
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I am the attorney who posted comment number 3045. The person who provided comment number 5030 is obviously a defense lawyer, because Judge Scullin not only has "complete control" over the courtroom proceedings, but exercises "complete control" over the results as well. He will routinely work from the bench to help one side he agrees with, including monkeying with jury instructions, jury selection, and the examination of parties (including interposing his own objections) to make sure the jury brings home the politically correct right-wing verdict. That is not the sort of "complete control" one expects from a good judge.

Prosecutor

Comment #: 5531
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Visitng judge in Arizona who admitted on the record his unfamiliarity with the modified categorical approach in determining whether a prior conviction qualifies for a sentencing enhancement. Disregarded stipulated sentencing range in plea agreements (in defendants' favor) and justified the lower sentence based on what he believed the appropriate fast track discount should have been.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 5030
Rating:9.0

Comments:
Great judge. Very even-handed. Always prepared for motions. He has complete control of his courtroom during trials, which works for some and doesn't work for others. I completely disagree with comment 3045.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 3508
Rating:5.2

Comments:
He seemed like a fair judge at first, but at sentencing he asked the probation officer if he could waive the sentence fee, and later asked a court clerk if he could sentence concurrently! Didn't seem to know what a judge could or couldn't do ! I was recently told this judge has since retired OFF the bench. One has to wonder......

Other

Comment #: 3158
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
FJS... While his professional credentials are nothing to scoff at, his personality, which can best be prepared to that of a wooden indian, is off-putting. Admittedly, I'm judging his honor based on his social skills (or lack thereof) rather than on his legal ingenue, but seriously, I've seen cardboard boxes with more personality. The only time I've known him to show any descriptive emotion or reaction is when you ask the guy for a favor. At that point, you're treated to 3 seconds of awkward silence before he manages to mumble something about how nice it was to speak with you, but he must now make his way to some important event (read: boondoggle) which requires his attention.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 3045
Rating:4.0

Comments:
When I see the initials "FJS" on any civil case I file, my blood runs cold. Fred, alias the "Supercop," is the living incarnate of evil. His jury selection techiques are insane and biased towards defendants. Attempts to take over trials to throw a case in favor of a defendant, especially in a civil rights action. Will also demonstrate this bias in jury instructions, so be on your toes then as well. Will do anything, including blasting/sanctioning the Plaintiffs' attorneys who appear in front of him (for no reason), to throw a case proferred against the government. Is clearly the least able, intellectually, of all of the Judges in the District. Everyone knows that Fred got passed over to be promoted to the Second Circuit because, even though his politics are somewhere to the right of Adolf Hitler, his record was so bad that even George W. Bush could not stomach it. The positive side of having Fred as your judge is that you are almost guaranteed a reversal from a summary judgment motion, and have a 50/50 chance of getting him reversed after trial because his bias and lack of legal ability shine through in his decisions and the trial transcript. Fred is so bad that he has been reversed by the Second Circuit multiple times on the same issue. As atonement for his multitude of sins, he is generally pretty fair to criminal defendants at sentencing. That is about the only nice thing that can be said about the man.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 1430
Rating:6.2

Comments:
Pleasant on the bench and in chambers. Not always helpful at trial but is very helpful at sentencing to the defense.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 1350
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Had a Crosby resentencing before him where he granted sentence reductions in a white collar case. He's definitely no-nonsense but showed a genuine sense of fairness. More interesting was his handling of a case that preceded ours, involving a wayward young man whose ass was saved by his father's sentencing statement. Scullin took the case seriously, had obviously read everything and showed a real sensitivity to the issues.

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Ratings

What others have said about Hon. Frederick J. Scullin, Jr.

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Litigant

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Prosecutor

Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Other

Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Criminal Defense Lawyer