The Robing Room

Hon. Stefan R. Underhill	See Rating Details
District Judge	See Comments
D.Conn.
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. Stefan R. Underhill

Comments

Court Staff

Comment #: 35326
Rating:2.0

Comments:
He ruined the connecticut bench Player umpire Typical federal judge who never first chaired a jury trial

Other

Comment #: 34359
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
He is the modern judge freisler type. Horrible.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 34084
Rating:1.2

Comments:
Open the courts. Be independent despite author of your appointment. There is no 'pandemic' exception to the Constitution.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 33358
Rating:2.0

Comments:
'The jury gets it.' They get it. Until jury disagrees with him. Then they don't get it.

Insufferably arrogant. Best thing about corona is you never have to go through phony hand shake ritual of his.

In reply to earlier poster, no. He does not care. At all.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 33337
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Does Judge Underhill ever wonder what happens to the litigants who were once seeking fair hearings? He was prejudiced against my civil rights case refusing a hearing when I was illl. Now my compensation is three times my best at the employer who fired me while needing FMLA leave with $500,000 of equity. He remains a federal judge. Clearly I overcame. He was close minded. I never will agree with his narrow prejudficed mind. Thankfully I was rewarded for my potential in ways that he will never experience as an opinionated prejudiced federal judge with a salary cap.

Litigant

Comment #: 32860
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
This judge is a conspirator judge with a fraudulent act at the social security and federal deposit insurance see cases 1919-CV 1260 and 19cv-1469, 19- CV 1231, will be remove from the federal court, corrupted judge

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 32829
Rating:1.2

Comments:
Like many federal judges, I doubt he ever tried a civil case as a lawyer. Certainly not first chair. Certainly not on behalf of an individual. His goal is to not just let you know that he is much, much smarter than you (Yale confuses people this way), but to impose his august wisdom on how every case should turn out by hook or crook. Too bad for Connecticut bench and the people who seek justice here.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 32813
Rating:3.7

Comments:
Judge Underhill is one of our worst federal judges. He is heavily biased against individuals and favors the rights of corporations. He prejudges matters before they are briefed. He intimidates lawyers into giving up on claims. Recently, he decided the merits of a collective action at the certification stage when the law is clear that merits are not to be considered. He knows this law but ruled on the merits anyway. He simply does what he wants and favors corporations all to the detriment of hard working individuals.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 31146
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Finally Judge Underhill is a chief judge who is piled high with paperwork and administrative duties leaving him precious little time for litigation and trials. He was a prejudiced judge who disregarded Federal Rules of Civil Procedure such as his refusal to write an Order on a Motion to Disqualify an administratively suspended attorney. May he spend his time in an office working on papers and away from the bench

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: 29336
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Underhill acts in haste without establishing facts and makes blatantly erroneous decisions without adequate analysis of legal precedents. How can we get him removed from the bench before he harms lives,wastes additional taxpayer money and fails to uphold the judicial standards?

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 29308
Rating:1.0

Comments:
has no business being a judge. a weird, nasty person. hates plaintiffs and everyone knows it.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 28818
Rating:1.1

Comments:
Judge Underhill was stubborn and quick tempered forming opinions on his impulse rather than facts. He made decisions on orders without a hearing in violation of well established due process rights to be heard.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 27254
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Underhill demonstrates deep prejudice and let Nicole Tuman Walsh practice for 15 months while administratively suspended from the Connecticut bar. Now Walsh in his court again facing RBRG Trading. Walsh had not practiced for five years before coming to Judge Underhill administratively suspended. Judge Underhill is hated and despised for his prejudice. May he burn in hell

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: 25097
Rating:1.0

Comments:
As bad as some of these comments are, he is really awful. Everyone on my team disliked him, and could see that the jurors did too. He belongs in some second rate white shoe firm charging $700 hour to make himself feel important.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24943
Rating:1.8

Comments:
Defense lawyer in black robe.

Litigant

Comment #: 24228
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Litigants should know that Judge Underhill makes decisions without a written order and without a fair hearing. In 13 CV 1382 he used inherent authority to let opposing counsel practice on the lawsuit without a certificate of good standing when she was administratively suspended from the Connecticut bar. Then he used inherent authority to sanction me for a disqualification motion. Judge Underhill never wrote an order on the disqualification motion but made a personal prejudiced decision that opposing counsel could practice without good standing. The sanctions motion was not served in accordance with Rule 11. Judge Underhill denied and fair hearing on the Motion because I was forbidden from discussing opposing counsel's related party transactions in the sanctions hearing. Judge Underhill has the opinion of appeal if you don't like it. I am Pro Se and don't have the skills for an appeal. Also my case was FMLA and I found another job that pays more so my damages were mitigated. Judge Underhill makes personal prejudiced decisions from the bench without a written order establishing the facts. Please email me if you would like additional information. I found him as prejudiced and someone who doesn't follow civil procedure

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24215
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Underhill presided over my FMLA lawsuit. He denied my hearing on a Motion for Summary Judgment because I had a job interview. He grossly abused his power as a judge and used inherent authority to allow an attorney who was administratively suspended from the bar to practice in the case, and then he sanctioned me using inherent authority to sanction me for seeking the counsel's disqualification. He could not grasp basic concepts about the case or recall that he granted both the Plaintiff's and Defendant's Summary Judgment motions. Ultimately I found a job that increased my pay by $35,000 and didn't have time for an appeal. I was deeply disappointed with Judge Underhill's poor performance. I hated him as a judge and for his lack of compassion and regard for other humans. He doesn't have any sympathy for people. I found him harsh, capricious, opinionated and stubborn

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24189
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Underhill was extremely unfair in my civil case, and he demonstrated an angry hostile temperament. The Second Circuit Appellate Chief Judge called Judge Underhill as a "frustrated, impatient, imperfect human". While Judge Underhill was not punished for his behavior on the bench, the appellate chief judge didn't have kind words in his description of Judge Underhill.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24076
Rating:1.5

Comments:
not half as smart as he thinks he is. glib and flippant.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 23979
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Underhill is the worst district judge in the US Second Circuit based on my cases filed in CT and NY. He becomes enraged, visibly angry and hostile without cause. He was prejudiced against my disability and denied me multiple hearing requests because I was disabled on his desired date for the hearing. He violated my constitutional rights to free speech and sanctioned me for expressing my opinion on a subject. I filed a judicial complaint with the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals against him which remains open after many months, and I have never complained about another judge at any time. I would never recommend him as an appellate jurist.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 22994
Rating:1.5

Comments:
Fond of saying that plaintiffs' cases are "weak" and woe betide the litigant who manages to get a jury to totally disagree with him. Thinks he is smartest man in the room. Shows great deference to jurors while they are in his courtroom; very little once they are gone if they rejected his view of a case.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 13463
Rating:2.7

Comments:
In the two cases I have been before him, one a contract dispute and one a civil rights dispute, he didn't grasp the genuine issues. Nor did he seem to care for constitutional rights or fair litigation conduct. He missed facts, and on reconsideration, remained entrenched in his position. Upon learning he missed facts because documents were destroyed by the defendants, he said not my problem. Take it another court. I see him as clearly biased for police defendants in civil rights cases, and framed the issues in the case so as to lead the jury to one conclusion.

I found his stepping off the bench to greet litigants after a decision a superficial gesture, and I had all I could do to keep from calling him stupid. Although calling him stupid may have been a good thing, because it would have gotten a new judge.

Litigant

Comment #: 11899
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Shows clear pro-establishment bias. The words of Judge Robert H. Bork in his book The Tempting of America are suited: "Legislation is far more likely to reflect majority sentiment while judicial activism is likely to represent an elite minority's sentiment". Also, Judge Underhill appears to reflect a political bias which may be related to his prior experience having worked as law clerk for Court of Appeals Judge Jon O. Newman.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 11463
Rating:3.0

Comments:
This judge apparently has no understanding of the law, and displays clear bias against the constitution and civil rights. He has displayed shocking contempt for basic constitutional rights.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 9903
Rating:10.0

Comments:
A gentleman and a good judge who gets along well with lawyers.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 9167
Rating:9.8

Comments:
Excellent judge with a great temperament. Would make a good appellate jurist. Takes his time but is very conscientious and his rulings are very thorough.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 8962
Rating:3.8

Comments:
I had heard good things before my first substantive hearing with him and was disappointed. I like his emphasis on civility, but on the merits he was not as thoughtful as I had have hoped. It was a relatively complex case and he simply did not grasp some of the issues. He clearly favors business interests. I am in no hurry to appear in front of him again.

Other

Comment #: 8266
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Superficially nice demeanor but clearly biased in favor of defendants. Horribly slow to rule on even simple motions. Avoid if possible.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 7789
Rating:6.0

Comments:
A gentleman--truly a pleasure to appear before. Courteous, respectful and mild mannered.
That said, his docket is perpetually behind. It's not uncommon to wait months, pushing years, for decisions which is surprising, since they are usually superficial with little depth of a good understanding of the more complex issues.
Tends to favor big business, probably the result of his background.
Nice man, but unfortunately not as bright as he may think he is.

Prosecutor

Comment #: 6992
Rating:4.6

Comments:
The 2nd Circuit overturned Judge Underhill's judgment of acquittal in a drug conspiracy case after a jury found the defendant guilty. The judge's scholarship and reasoning skills are not the best. Case: 07-3018-cr. Quote: "We find that the government’s evidence was sufficient to prove that Hawkins not only purchased from the conspiracy with a known intent to resell, but he knowingly and intentionally joined and participated in it. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of acquittal and remand the case to the District Court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 6665
Rating:9.6

Comments:
Having tried both civil and criminal jury cases to verdict before Judge Underhill, and having over thirty years of experience in trial practice, I am very impressed with this jurist in virtually every category. He's a pleasure to deal with.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 1997
Rating:9.9

Comments:
Eminently fair judge. Great disposition - personable and friendly. Does not appear to inject his politics into his decisions - in fact a mark of how good a judge he has been is that no one really knows what his ideology is - and that is refreshing these days.

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What others have said about Hon. Stefan R. Underhill

Comments

Court Staff

Other

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Litigant

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Civil Litigation - Private

Litigant

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Litigant

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Civil Litigation - Private

Prosecutor

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Civil Litigation - Private