"The Robing Room: MD State Judges

Hon. Karen C. Friedman	See Rating Details
Circuit Judge Circuit Court
Baltimore City County 8th Circuit	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 2.6 - 44 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 3 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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Only items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating.

General Rating Criteria

* 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=Chronically Late,10=Always on Time)
* General Ability to Handle Pre-Trial Matters		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
* General Ability as a Trial Judge		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
Flexibility In Scheduling		(1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)

Criminal Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation		(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
General Inclination Regarding Bail		(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Plea Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved, 10=Very Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pretrial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)

Civil Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation		(1=Not at all Evenhanded,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Involvement in Settlement Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved,10=Very Involved)
General Inclination		(1=Pro-defendant, 10=Pro-plaintiff)

Comments

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What others have said about Hon. Karen C. Friedman

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8464
Rating:1.0

Comments:
One of the most incompetent, arrogant and lazy judges I have come across in the city and that is saying something..And it looks like the only positive review in awhile likes her smile!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8430
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Interesting 9 star rating at 9pm, especially when most of the reviews are 1" as is mine based on my experience with her in the courtroom. Incompetent.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8296
Rating:9.1

Comments:
I find Judge Friedman to be well prepared, extremely bright, refreshingly real and genuine with a magnetic personality and infectious smile. She never has backed down from difficult or complex issues while having an uncanny ability to make sound, rational decisions with a well thought out legal basis. You may not always agree with her, but you must admire and respect her professionalism and demeanor.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD8283
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Really should not be on the bench. Arrogant and lazy.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8223
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Very lazy judge. Does not make good decisions.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8184
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I agree with the majority of the comments - she is a poor judge (and all three of the scores of 10 were given on the same day - suspicious!)

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8120
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Completely unprepared and somehow unable to follow fairly basic legal arguments, probably because she was in a hurry to finish the day by 2!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8100
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Incompetent and unable to follow legal arguments. Interesting to note that the three good reviews she "received" were all on the same day.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8039
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Shockingly poor - I agree with the majority of the other reviews of this judge

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD7895
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Agree with the prior comment - she is incompetent, ill-prepared and arrogant - obviously riding on the coattails of Judge DiPietro, who is quite good.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD7747
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Friedman should be removed or hopefully not re-elected (no wonder she joined a slate of other judges at last election). She is ill-informed as to the law, very inflexible with trial scheduling and slow to grasp the facts.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD7702
Rating:1.0

Comments:
See above

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: MD7662
Rating:7.8

Comments:
Any circuit judge willing to and or having the confidence to grant a summary judgment motion iwhen appropriate is a good judge at the circuit court level.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD7650
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Prejudges her cases and was completely inflexible.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD7621
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I have found her to be consistently poor - ill-prepared and not fully cognizant of the law - very poor rulings.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD7577
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I completely disagree with the two previous comments (and agree with the multitude of earlier ones that rate her poorly). We have found her to be completely arbitrary, inflexible and arrogant in the courtroom.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD7501
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I have been a criminal defense attorney for 22 years. Without question, Judge Friedman is one of the best judges I have ever appeared before. She is great in trial and great for pleas. Also incredibly fair on VOPs.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD7474
Rating:9.6

Comments:
She has proven to be one of the most well balanced judges I have seen on the bench in a while in both the criminal and civil arenas. You know when your case has ended, your client has had their FAIR day in court. I have lost some and I have won some and I never left that courtroom disappointed in the process nor lost my faith in the jurisprudence system. She has been an asset to the Bench for Baltimore City in her ability to sift through the banter, emotions and (sometimes overly aggressive) adversarial undertones rhat counsel can generate. She is to the trial courtroom as “Mills Lane” is to boxing. she will keep counsel in check, but will also ensure that professionalism, competence and fairness prevails in her courtroom. Kudos to a stellar member of the bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD7435
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Lazy and unable to understand the legal issues.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD7320
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Terrible judge. She appears to put more effort into how she looks than objectively hearing the case before her bench. A disgrace to the robe.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD7164
Rating:1.0

Comments:
A disgrace.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD7069
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Friedman is arrogant and ill-tempered and very lazy - a disgrace to the bench. If I could give a zero I would.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6965
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Agree with the other comments. Terrible judge - should not be on the bench

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6891
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Unreasonable, uninformed, very biased. Try to postpone if you pull this judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6808
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Totally unprepared. Ruling was entirely arbitrary. This judge should not be on the bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6722
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Friedman comes across as very angry in court. She is delivering verdicts based off emotion instead of law, evidence, facts and witnesses. In all my years of experience, I have never come across someone so visibly angry and biased in a courtroom.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6627
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I have to agree with the majority of the comments I've seen so far on Judge Friedman indicating that she is a terrible judge and should be avoided if possible. She's out of her league as a judge. She handled a contempt proceeding and completely botched rulings on objections and in her findings. Not a good fit for the responsibilities a judge has, and clearly biased toward female litigants. All these bad reviews simply can not all be wrong.

Litigant

Comment #: MD6556
Rating:1.0

Comments:
A "pro government" judge for sure. Looks at things as she thinks they should be and not how they are in the real world.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6497
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Presided over two of my cases - biased, arrogant and very difficult in the court room. Made absurd decisions that hopefully will be overturned.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6423
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I agree with the others that found her to be lacking - avoid if at all possible - both of her rulings were completely off base.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6379
Rating:1.0

Comments:
We also had a poor experience - entirely inflexible, lacking in understanding of the issues at hand.

Litigant

Comment #: MD6349
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge is terrible, but must have friends - all three scored her as a 10 all on the same day (and one more 10 two days later).

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6302
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Couldn't disagree with the other comments more. Judge Friedman has presided over a couple of my cases thus far, and she is rarely "emotional" or "inconsistent." If anything she is very thoughtful and intently listens to all aspects of the argument, as she soaks it up like a sponge, before delivering her opinion.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6299
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Highly intelligent, balanced and mindful of all the parties to an action. She takes her role very seriously and has a deep love of the law with all its complexities. She is civil with all the parties and produces well reasoned and thoughtful decisions. Baltimore City needs more judges like her.

Prosecutor

Comment #: MD6295
Rating:9.0

Comments:
Judge Friedman is one of the most compassionate and down to Earth judges that I have come in contact with. She encourages advocacy but focuses on the practical issues facing litigation.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD6294
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Judge Friedman is a terrific judge. She is smart, capable, fair, and compassionate. She is able to handle complicated legal matters, while delivering sentences with respect for defendants. The citizens of Baltimore City are lucky to have her on the bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6267
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I agree with all of the other comments - she should not be on the bench.

Litigant

Comment #: MD6249
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Our trial was mostly about business issues and Judge Friedman simply could not understand the financial pieces - she must not have any business background, even the simplest accounting was beyond her. She was also in a hurry to finish by 2 which did not help her ability to understand the discussions - it took so very long to explain everything.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6241
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Friedman really struggles to understand the legal issues - is a fairly new judge and it shows. Tread carefully - she is sensitive and emotional and needs a lot of explanation and review of the applicable legal statutes.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD6230
Rating:2.3

Comments:
Judge Karen Friedman has appeared emotional and inconsistent for several trials, in addition to exhibiting a lack of understanding or ability to comprehend financial and business matters. Avoid if possible.