The Robing Room

Hon. Janis Graham Jack	See Rating Details
District Judge	See Comments
S.D.Tex.
Average Rating:5.1 - 47 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. Janis Graham Jack

Comments

Litigant

Comment #: 35182
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
To correct typos and expand slightly my initial comments about Judge Jack should read as follows:

Judge Janis Jack graduated from a Baltimore nursing school and then moved to Texas to become a divorce attorney. Despite the enormous pool of much better the qualified candidates (probably most of the legal profession), Bill Clinton appoints her to the federal bench. The only logical explanation is that the Clintons were so worried that their planned divorce might expose them to legal litigation, and she said that it would.

Judge Jack is the judge who sentenced by last living nephew Brian McCuiston to 25 years in federal prison for a non-violent drug offense allegedly committed at age 17. His oldest brother Kevin was murdered, and his other brother Erik died mysteriously (murdered) in a Texas police station. Having already served 19 years in prison, Brian's compassionate release was recommended, but Judge Jack refused.

In forthcoming litigation,
Bill and Hillary Clinton and Judge Jack will be forced to testify and should all be prepared to serve out the remainder of Brian's sentence.

Also, President Biden will be asked to tell us why Hunter remains free after earning $1M/yr from Ukrainian interests while you were carrying out a foreign policy highly favorable to the Ukraine and putting many US soldiers lives in jeopardy. Hunter also needs to take Biain's place in jail, and your own resignation is expected. Perhaps a President Trump will pardon all of you. After all, he was a Democrat most of his life and only entered politics to get things done.

Anyone interested in helping Brian McCuiston and so many others like him may send their letters, donations and other expressions of support to Final Platform LLC, 110 N IH 35 STE 315 #404, Round Rock, TX 78681.

Brian is a full partner in Final Platform LLC, and many others like him will soon become one.

Phil Smith
International Monetary Fund, Retired

Other

Comment #: 34238
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
A poor example of a jurist, lawyer, and judge. A waste of an judicial appointment appointment by the executive branch. Those that know her before her appointment know she was not knowledgeable of the law she practiced; however her family ties to old colonial money granted her access to her political appointment. Her stance on drugs (because of her daughter's familiar acquaintance to abuse) distorted her bias in favor of leniency for drug offenders despite violence or or sex offenses in relation while in commission of the offenses. But a weapons charge is adjudicated at fantastic potentials fantasized. Civil cases were heard in nearly flawless fashion. Civil and theoretical cases here heard in stellar fashion. Her metabolic comorbidities may have a significant issue in her judgment because her temper seemed to rise as her sense of hunger did (often vocalize during hearings). I do however wish I could get away with her sanction deviance.... I would rule the world.

Other

Comment #: 34126
Rating:1.0

Comments:
UNBELIEVEABLE! THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS TO HERSELF AND OTHERS. EVEN HER OWN SISTER SAYS HOW TERRIBLE SHE IS! EMAIL ME AT PHILBSMITH1235@OUTLOOK.COM. WORKING TOGETHER,WE CAN FREE MY NEPHEW BRIAN AND SO MANY OTHER WRONGFULLY CONVICTED FEDERAL INMATES. FINALLY, MY OTHER NEPHEW ERIC RECENTLY WHILE IN POLICE CUSTODY!

Other

Comment #: 34112
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I learned only recently of a case where Judge Jack denied the compassionate release of someone who had already served 19 years of the 25 year sentence she had given him for a non-violent drug offence he allegedly committed while still a juvenile--even though his only remaining brother had died recently circumstances while in police custody in Texas? As details of this and other Judge Janis Jack cases become more widely known, every minute she remains on the bench poses a serious risk to herself and others.

Other

Comment #: 34110
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Given the testimony against her by her own 68 year old sister, the comments of others, and the exclusion of very positive ratings so obviously entered on her behalf, Judge Jack must be disbarred immediately and held in protective custody while her psychiatric evaluation gets underway. Furthermore, knowing her aberrant behavior and seemingly 100% disposition to favor the prosecution in criminal cases, the conduct of federal prosecutors also must be closely examined.

Other

Comment #: 33549
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This is my description of Jacks- careless,belittling,biased,gruff,incompetent, I can go on and on. What this person has done to my husband and my family will Never be forgiven. I may not be the smartest person in the world but I know a demoniac person when I see one especially in her court room. How she is even still a "judge" is astonishing to me since she does nothing but sit on her perch and look at a computer screen more than do anything else. United States Judge more like The United States Joke! I don't know whats happened in her life to make her so cruel to everyone else but I really hope she gets some psychological help and do everyone a favor a permintly retire. Have fun freezing your ass off in Maine.

Other

Comment #: 33547
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Jacks.... where do I begin?
She is judge that should of never been appointed. When Bill Clinton appointed her, it was not his best day!
She is mean, nasty and vindictive. She spends more time looking at the computer screen on her desk, than actually paying attention to what is going on in her courtroom.
Just because you are a lawyer and in her case a divorce lawyer, doesn't mean you make a good judge. She also seems to think her intelligence is above most people, but she attended schools Texas instead of the best Ivy League schools or Cornell for the highly intelligent.
Get over yourself Jacks! You are not any better than the rest of us.
You are the worst Judge and YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for ruining innocent peoples lives!!! I do believe in "karma" that says what goes around comes around. When you are called away from this world, I don't think St. Peter will be able to find his keys to open the Pearly Gates to let you in.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 33479
Rating:1.0

Comments:
A mean nut job

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 33360
Rating:5.3

Comments:
Yes your Honor Judge Graham you need to be aware of the truth of the matter in Staar Dominguez case, because they have not been truthful and by law have lied to your Honor!Mrs Moe happened to be at staars house to witness a call that CPS worker Becky Tejerina had with staar and Mrs Moe knows that Becky was hateful telling staar all kinds of stuff;. I have been at all staars courts not once have you even let or ask staar if she has or had anything to say! She's human too and she has documents showing where Becky was closing her case then later comes and takes the kids if u was to only ask if there was witnesses at the time she told staar it was over then these kids wouldn't be where they are your Honor Staar Dominguez was getting off the drug at the time which some of us here in dalhart TX thought that was great! But one thing and this is true judge staar is a good mother she's never been abusive towards her kids they were always feed & showered and clean environment always;! Your Honor I just ask that the whole truth be brought to Justice and with staar doing everything they asked of her and still want to make her look bad Your Honor Please in God's Name Staar deserves her kids back because all this was wrong doing! I know better than to not Lie in Court; I wouldn't Lie to Your Honor please believe that staar Dominguez is a great,mother!!
Thank you Judge Graham

Other

Comment #: 32889
Rating:1.0

Comments:
She's making mine and my husband's job even more difficult than it already is. She is forcing someone to stay awake in our home in order to make a ruling that she has no idea about. I believe she needs to stay in my home for a week and uproot her life in order to understand what she's doing with the 24 hour awake ruling she's trying to pass! The foster care system is broken but only if you view it that way.

Other

Comment #: 32675
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
She is my sister. I have known her over 68 years. She is self indulging and always looks out for her own interests. She is highly intelligent, yet uses that knowledge to gain her own personal goals.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 28301
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Janis Jack is a very poor Judge. She will lose her temper with lawyers, just for them competently representing their clients. At times, she will speak like a street thug. She is lazy, and will dismiss a merited case, just so she has less cases and can go home to the East Coast, while she is supposed to be presiding in Texas. Generally, she will deny and dismiss every criminal defense motion, without reading it or considering it.

Other

Comment #: 24402
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Her staff is terrified of her, and for good reason. She is incredibly mean, impatient, and disrespectful. She expects you to read her mind and gives no guidance whatsoever. She has screwed up many a new law-school-graduate's life. And dont get me started qabout how she treats the attorneys who come before her.

Other

Comment #: 23204
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Even when she knew the jury wrongfully convicted someone, she refused to over turn the conviction. By doing this she ripped a young family apart and forced a child to be raised in a single family home. It is OK as long as the government is fulfilling their contract with the private industry prisons to keep their beds filled. It doesn't matter what happens to the innocent victims - like the children. Too bad she doesn't have a spine to stand up for what is right instead of what the powers that be want her to do. You should be a judge for the people and not a judge for the political party.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 21679
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
She does what is right in her view. She has no inhibition about ruling against powerful interests when she thinks them in the wrong. She is the best judge in the world to have if she agrees with you on what is right and wrong. She gets thing done. She is the worst judge to have if she disagrees. I found her sense of right and wrong mostly the same as mine although I found myself on the wrong side of her judgment a number of times. She has been a blessing to the cause of justice. Those who complain about her are generally those who think they should win based on their "status" regardless of merits.

Yes, she has a mouth, but ultimately she always acted reasonably. I remember once she chewed me out badly claiming I was sexist (She misinterpreted some language I used as sexist -- it really wasn't intended as that). I thought for sure I would lose. However, when she wrote her opinion on the motion for summary judgment, I won the motion. The point is that she may bark but she ultimately does what is right. I saw her do some really compassionate and wonderful things over the years.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 21497
Rating:2.0

Comments:
This is the absolute worst judge I have ever been in front of. She is petty, vindictive and sociopathic. She has destroyed so many people's lives: defendants, lawyers, clerks and judges.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 21251
Rating:9.8

Comments:
She is an excellent judge for complex civil cases. She has been a strong influence on using tech equipment in Federal courts.

Other

Comment #: 20805
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
It is difficult to accurately convey how awful this judge is to her clerks and staff. I know for certain that she lost five clerks in the span of nine months (four resignations and one termination) and shows no sign of slowing down. Three of the five clerks had degrees from Ivy League law schools. What is, perhaps, most disturbing about Judge Jack's treatment of her clerks is the amount of collateral damage that she wreaks in their lives. People uproot their families, sell their homes and quit lucrative jobs to take clerkships with Judge Jack, only to be forced out months later. Though some of the criticism below is hyperbolic, much of it is accurate. A frightening woman. Anyone thinking of clerking for her should seriously reconsider.

Other

Comment #: 19799
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Excellent judge. Have observed in her court many times. Fair to all .

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 18847
Rating:1.5

Comments:
Without a doubt the worst federal judge around, perhaps in history. Mean, spiteful, hateful, biased. Has fired/destroyed literally dozens of her law clerks, and seems to enjoy it in a sick sociopathic way. On vacation most of the year also.

Court Staff

Comment #: 13601
Rating:3.3

Comments:
Wonderful judge when she likes you and everything positive written to date. But only a fool could ignore the fact that she treats every interaction with others as a win/lose proposition. The ugly, vile, hateful, demeaning things she says to others below her status, or those who respectfully disagree is unprecedented in almost any other court settings. Her bias is evident on specific cases via the breaks she provides to certain classes, and the extra punishment handed out to those she dislikes. If you're a conservative white male, you'll be on the chopping block. Anyone who has spent time in her court (more than just a couple cases) knows this, but there's no one out there who can help her victims.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 13538
Rating:3.5

Comments:
Did not have a chance to rate this judge on several issues because she simply did not give me the opportunity to present my case. She did dismiss it without cause, so I may be able to have another judge pick it up later if I can afford the action.

It seemed clear to me; that (being a Clinton appointment), she would follow the party line and keep the big-government control over this sensitive family issue. She took no interest in whether this case had been being handled in a just matter and it was obvious from her comments that these decisions at lower levels which can cause so much harm to families not only to fathers, but kids that can just be used for money by mothers who do not care and never tell the children the truth about who the real fathers are.

Other

Comment #: 13268
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Jack is one of the pettiest, most vindictive, most incompetent judges in America. She runs her court like a personal fiefdom. If an attorney dares to question any of her outlandish, dictatorial behavior, she has no qualms about punishing the attorney's client with a sentence at the top of the guidelines. She will fine an attorney on the spot without the slightest pretense of due process for offending her sense of self-importance.

Judge Jack has zero interest in following the law. Her jurisprudence is driven entirely by an all-consuming desire to lessen her workload. Any case that was removed from state court will be remanded, regardless of what the law says, so she doesn’t have to deal with it. The little time that she spends doing vaguely work-related matters is almost entirely consumed with her monomaniacal efforts to terrorize and humiliate the poor people who work at her courthouse. She turns employees into spies, forces them to rat on each other, and then seeks to have them fired when they stray from her iron-fisted rule. Judge Jack is an advertisement against life tenure.

Perhaps worst of all, Judge Jack is astonishingly lazy. She spends the majority of the year in Maine, on a permanent vacation about as far from the district she is supposed to be serving within the continental United States as possible. Even within the context of this absurd insult to the taxpayer, she resents the little “work” that she is compelled to do on the taxpayer’s dime. She beams herself in from Maine for sentencings and phones herself in for conferences. She routinely appears on screen with a jumbo-sized McDonald’s cup next to her. For months she strong-armed criminal defense attorneys into consenting to have their clients sentenced by video-conference. The federal defender’s office eventually had enough and insisted that their clients receive the common decency of being sentenced to lengthy prison terms by a judge with the common courtesy to look them in the eye.

Judge Jack is an embarrassment and her career is a stain on the Article III judiciary.

Other

Comment #: 9915
Rating:2.0

Comments:
predudicial,deferential,rude,abrupt and mean-spirited

Litigant

Comment #: 9011
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Came into court with pretermined judgement. Mean, appeared to be in a bad mood Told defendant she was too educated to have been a victim of spousal abuse. Refused to accept defendants evidence even with supporting documentation from prosecutor

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 8998
Rating:9.5

Comments:
Judge Jack ran a very efficient and fair civil jury trial. She let the attorneys conduct voir dire. She discussed everything with counsel and gave counsel input on such matters as the number of jurors, strikes, and time for opening and closing. She and her Clerk worked very hard on the charge. Punctual. Very smart. Has a scheduling order and a pretrial order that covered most everything. I observed Judge Jack being courteous and cordial to her staff and all counsel having business with the court.
Judge Jack's staff is very helpful.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 8715
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Well, having been in her court room more times than I care to admit, she can be quite mean and cruel to her own law clerks and court staff. I once witnessed her humiliate a probation officer officer who was only doing his job and THEY WORK FOR HER!

Mean, spiteful woman.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 8267
Rating:9.9

Comments:
This judge is courteous and compassionate as well as very bright.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 7898
Rating:9.7

Comments:
Hardworking, possessed of a good sense of humor and very bright.

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: 7868
Rating:9.9

Comments:
Hardworking and very bright.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 7842
Rating:9.3

Comments:
A very good judge, and excellent in complex litigation.

Other

Comment #: 7495
Rating:8.0

Comments:
Runs her court room well! She is fair and consistent with both sides of the argument.

Court Staff

Comment #: 6663
Rating:1.3

Comments:
Never mind the weight jokes: she's mean, dumb, biased (albeit to the left), insecure, mercurial, and vengeful. She's exactly the sort of person you don't want to be a lifetime-appointed judge: someone who is profoundly unhappy with themselves and takes it out on everybody around them. (Her law clerk attrition rate is, I believe, unprecedented among the federal judiciary.) Hopefully, you'll catch her on a good day, or after she's had a lot of therapy.

Court Staff

Comment #: 6198
Rating:2.5

Comments:
That brilliant opinion in In Re Silica will probably be the greatest work that her clerks have ever done. She is on vacation five months out of the year. She fires staff that she lacks the authority to hire, then gets "reversed" by the Chief Judge. She ruins her clerks, and fires about one a year.

Other

Comment #: 5220
Rating:8.0

Comments:
It's revealing that those who have entered negative ratings for Judge Jack resort to personal attacks about her appearance or her weight or anything but due process concerns. Hmmmm.

Other

Comment #: 4997
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Judge Jack is the most courageous and objective jurist whom we have. Her brilliantly arrived-at opinion in "In Re Silica" will prove to be one of the biggest cases in our history. It will not go away, despite massive apathy and fear on the part of all too many lawyers. Pragmatism is poison; Judge Jack is a formidable opponent.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 4716
Rating:5.6

Comments:
It's absolutely a crap shoot with her. And she can really be mean.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 4243
Rating:9.2

Comments:
I recently had a 2255 evidentiary hearing before Judge Jack. While my client ultimately was not victorious, Judge Jack (a) gave us a hearing (which a lot of judges will simply find a way to weasel out of granting), and (b) gave us a very fair hearing. A criminal defendant on a 2254 or 2255 can't ask for more than that. While I'm sure my client would disagree, I think Judge Jack came to the proper conclusion in ultimately denying the 2255 based on her findings of fact and credibility. The reasoning in Judge Jack's opinions granting us an evidentiary hearing and ultimately denying us relief were well-written, well-researched, and well-reasoned. I'd have no objection to having my next federal postconviction writ held before Judge Jack. Also, her court staff is a pleasure to deal with and went out of their way to accommodate us re: scheduling matters.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 3421
Rating:1.3

Comments:
This judge is a joke: incompetent and ill humored. Thinks because her law clerks wrote an opinion picked up by the press she is a wizard. Unfortunately she is a lazy, ill tempered woman that should not be a judge. Nasty and impatient; rude and viscious. Watch out if she is hungry.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 2494
Rating:2.2

Comments:
Exactly what a judge should not be: predetermines cases, one-sided and not at all reasonable.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 2186
Rating:10.0

Comments:
one of the finest judges i have had the pleasure of practicing before

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 1853
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Reminds me of the Red Queen in Alice of Wonderland

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 1847
Rating:5.5

Comments:
thinks she's god

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 1802
Rating:2.0

Comments:
Jabba the Hut in a black robe.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 1520
Rating:4.0

Comments:
mean spirited and nasty

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What others have said about Hon. Janis Graham Jack

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Litigant

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Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

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Civil Litigation - Private

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Court Staff

Civil Litigation - Private

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Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Civil Litigation - Private

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Court Staff

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Civil Litigation - Private

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