The Robing Room

Hon. Janet T. Neff	See Rating Details
District Judge	See Comments
W.D.Mich.
Average Rating:3.2 - 33 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. Janet T. Neff

Comments

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 34623
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
All the reviews about Judge Neff are accurate. I wasn’t shocked to read so many negative reviews and every review is exactly what I witnessed. Obviously she is all about big business. She doesn’t care about fraud victims, doesn’t read the case and ruins the little peoples lives.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 34548
Rating:9.0

Comments:
Judge Neff may have her quirks, but she is smart. She doesn't put up with any nonsense, and she can see through weak arguments. She made the right decision in my case, and I would take her again as my judge. I did not experience what the other attorneys have complained about on this site.

Other

Comment #: 33663
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Worst,most biased Judge I've ever come across..Sends everything to ADR,has no clue of what she's doing, doesn't read pleadings,has an awful temper,no knowledge of FED R & CIV P..Total INCOMPETENT..

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: 32716
Rating:8.0

Comments:
All the comments below are not factual. They are from angry prosecutors that did not get there way. These people dislike judge neff because she would not let them manipulate the court procedure to there liking. She does not let prosecutors railroad defendants. It is about tome we have a judge that stands for proper judgement and will not let trumped up and false evidence corrupt her courtroom. These critics below are upset because they were unable to sway her and her courtroom to there liking. Thank you judge neff for your unbiased judgments. She is a just judge and does not believe in unfairly imposed sentencing. A breath of fresh air when working with her. About time we have a fair judge and not a robot!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 31270
Rating:1.3

Comments:
This Judge is one of the most lazy Judges that I have ever encountered. She sends everything on her docket to ADR, she absolutely has no idea of what she is doing. And in an effort to clear her docket of the work that she was appointed to do, she files superfluous notices of "impending dismissal" even though you have weeks left on a deadline. She should not be anywhere near the bench!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 25654
Rating:1.2

Comments:
This is the absolute worst judge I have ever been before, and one that will seriously cause you to question your career choice. No other judge even comes close. I have never been before a judge that is so clearly inept. It is actually a disgrace to the entire judicial system and makes you question the integrity of the system itself. How she got through the appointment process makes you question the entire system as well - was she even interviewed by anyone? She thinks she's smart and knows it all, and actually decides which way the case should end up at the very beginning. To that end, she'll completely ignore the law (including Federal Procedure) and manipulate facts - and even accept attorney argument as true facts without any support - to get to the result that she wants - this is no lie. Very lazy as well. She will not read anything that you file. Be prepared for a very costly, time consuming (and in all seriousness, extremely frustrating) adventure before her if you're not on the side she decided should win at the beginning, and then an appeal after you lose before her (which you will most likely win).

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24476
Rating:2.2

Comments:
Very disrespectful to attorneys. Does not give oral argument, which is the ultimate disrespect.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24181
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Janet Neff is the worst of the worst when it comes to being a Judge. She has no clue what she is doing. She should not even be a law clerk.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 23353
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Neff is one of the biggest mistakes to the bench. Pushed through by then Senator Levin so Bush could get his appointments through, she is a huge mistake. She has no clue what she is doing, and sends her cases to ADR so she does not have to deal with them. It is either because she is truly lazy (which reflect in her Opinions) or because she has no clue. Or it could be both. Anyone who gets her as a Judge on their case needs to be aware of the long road you have with her. I much rather be in kangaroo court (state court) than in her courtroom.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 23352
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Neff is a mistake of the utmost proportion. She has not a clue when it comes to the Fed. R. Civ. P. and believes herself to be as high as SCOTUS, based on her entrance. It is obvious she rarely reads the pleadings in front of her, and her anger and temperament only solidify her lack of knowledge for the law or the position she is in.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 23295
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Should not be on the bench.

Prosecutor

Comment #: 23294
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Not impressed.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 23292
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Terrifying because she does not have a clue what she is doing but yells at the lawyers with inane comments in an effort to hide her ignorance and confusion. A complete disaster and humiliation for the federal bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 22895
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Lazy and intellectually dishonest. Ultra anti-business and very left-leaning politically. These views heavily influence all of her rulings.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 22086
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Beyond awful. How much so simply cannot be summed up in words. One very small example: Evidentiary hearing that concluded shortly after lunch. She came back from an obvious lunch at some restaurant outside the courthouse (I saw her returning). Hearing concluded about an hour after lunch. She read from a written opinion she clearly meant to give the impression she had diligently written in chambers over the lunch hour. It was utterly inconsistent with the evidence as taken at the hearing. She obviously could have cared less. The upshot of the opinion was that a) she didn't have to make any difficult decisions and b) it minimized the work she had to do that day and for the rest of the case (apparently the only things she is interested in). I have been practicing long enough to know sloth when I smell it, and this courtroom reeks of it.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 22062
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This Judge is horrible on any level. She lacks the interest and the intelligence to understand even basic legal issues. She is not even qualified to flip burgers, let alone deal with peoples' lives.

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: 22049
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Calamitous.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 21695
Rating:2.0

Comments:
First impression: This person is a federal judge? You have got to be kidding. Perhaps there was a day when all people appointed to the federal bench were dedicated, hard working, learned, disciplined, and broad-minded. If so, those days are very clearly long gone. Judge Neff is the opposite of every one of those qualities. How is it that anyone having influence over federal appointments would think to even toy with the idea of Neff for a nanosecond? She is so obviously incompetent for this position, she should not have been within 100 miles of anyone's radar screen.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 21663
Rating:2.0

Comments:
She is an unmitigated disaster in every possible regard. It is almost comical, how a judge can be so unreservedly terrible on every level. But, of course, it could never be comic -- it is, in fact, an immeasurable shame.

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: 21628
Rating:2.0

Comments:
This judge is just awful in every possible category. There is something horribly wrong with a system that allows people like this to become a judge of the federal bench.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 21616
Rating:2.0

Comments:
This judge is among the worst that I have ever seen. He is a perfect example of "slot machine justice."

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 21484
Rating:2.3

Comments:
This judge is a disgrace to the bench. She is lazy, inept, callous and does not understand the simplest of cases. She sends everything to ADR, because either she does not understand the case or is way too lazy to make any attempt to do so.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 21255
Rating:2.0

Comments:
This judge is "the perfect storm." She is rude and arrogant with counsel in an attempt to hide her inability to understand issues and follow legal argument, which is due in large part to her laziness. She is always trying to send cases to ADR or otherwise get them away from her so that she doesn't have to work to make correct rulings. I have practiced litigation continuously for over 25 years and I have never seen a worse federal judge. She is a disgrace to the federal (or any) bench, and the very notion of justice.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 21230
Rating:7.8

Comments:
This judge is a wonderful person and a pleasure to be with. However, she is quite liberal -- but she treats everyone with the same respect.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 20949
Rating:9.6

Comments:
A great judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 19804
Rating:2.0

Comments:
A horrible Judge of monumental proportions. There is a reason she sends everything to arbitration, aside from her laziness.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 12685
Rating:1.2

Comments:
She has lived up to everything the bar association said about her during her confirmation hearing -- she's unqualified to be a federal judge. In fact, she's a disaster of monumental proportions. She lacks the interest and the intelligence to understand even basic legal issues. When you combine that with laziness and a penchant for taking the easy way out on most issues, the attorney or client who has the misfortune of appearing before her will be constantly frustrated. Perhaps she's OK for a simple slip and fall case but the court should try to keep complex cases away from her because she's simply in over her head with no lifeline, which is why she sends everything to arbitration.

Other

Comment #: 10502
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Ultra, ultra liberal. Doesn't make decisions based on law and/or criminal history. Completely anti-law enforcement.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 9948
Rating:2.0

Comments:
a god awful inflexible nasty jurist. She picks sides has not even the slightest empathy for the attorneys who appear before her. She picks dates without consultation with the parties and then refuses even modest continuances. The only thing good about her is that all parties fear her so much cases tend to resolve.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 6527
Rating:2.8

Comments:
Judge Neff is a joke and could have done the WDMI courts a huge favor by rejecting her nomination!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 5989
Rating:4.7

Comments:
This judge is a joke. From all my research she is supposed to be a fair judge, but after today I can only imagine how she got on the bench. In her own words: "I have not read the brief or motion but the defendant has a good argument." What kind of moronic statement is that?. She is just another pro-business judge and is the median of what the judicial system is today. Carl Levin must have been on something when he fought for her to be appointed.

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Ratings

What others have said about Hon. Janet T. Neff

Comments

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Prosecutor

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private