"The Robing Room: MD State Judges

Hon. DaNeeka L. Cotton	See Rating Details
Circuit Judge Circuit Court
Prince George's County 7th Circuit	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 2.8 - 10 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 2.0 - 4 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. DaNeeka L. Cotton

Comments

Other

Comment #: MD9562
Rating:4.0

Comments:
Being a black woman who has survived domestic violence, I was excited to see another black woman behind the bench. Initially she seemed fair but she made facial expressions the entire time; and asked us to repeat testimony a few times. I wasn’t sure if she was really listening. She muted the court room several times which was very distracting due to the noise. Her verdict was contradicting & made no sense , because she stated she can tell the child comes from two loving homes with genuine love, however she gives the father primary physical
Custody. She stated that “it seems like he prefers his father”. How is that fair to say or assume? My son did not give any testimony and was not in the court room. She was more focused on the fact that I changed my son’s school than the issue at hand which was parent alienation. The plaintiff even admitted to withholding the child and yet she rewards him with even more time. This court is disgusting.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD9223
Rating:8.0

Comments:
Good judge. Fair minded and good temperament. Does not tolerate fools, especially lawyers who are not prepared. Come prepared, be respectful, and she will be fair. Genuinely nice off the bench, as well.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD9200
Rating:1.0

Comments:
She's absolutely terrible and children and families. A woman was killed under her watch because she didn't provide her a protect order. How many families must be harmes by her indifference and treating children like thei assets that can be split in half without issue. Report her and get her conduct reviewed publicly!

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD9180
Rating:1.0

Comments:
A good police officer was sentence to a year in jail. Judge's and prosecutor's shouldn't be allowed to go outside the facts of the hearing.
Unfortunately, I don't believe they feel the shame they brought on the county.

Other

Comment #: MD9179
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
The most biased Judge I have ever seen.
absolutely horrible. Should not be a judge. Karma will get her. Ruled guilty on no proof. She had her mind made up before the trial because the defendant was white.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD9057
Rating:1.4

Comments:
The Judge does not know the law. Her rulings make no sense. She shows favoritism, doesn't allow a person to defend false statements made about them, & could care less about the truth. It is obvious her decision is made before the hearing occurs. She speaks arrogantly.with an attitude and makes prejudicial facial expressions when a person responds to her questions. She doesn't allow enough time to allow people to fairly present their side. She also takes advantage of being able to "mute" someone on Zoo if their response is not leaning toward her desired outcome!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8484
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge has no respect for time and is hardly ever punctual. She barely pays attention, and will make facial expressions while counsel is conducting direct examination that clearly signals where she is leaning before herding the other side. She does not base her judgment on the law and evidence presented (partly because she's hardly paying attention), but on her personal preference. I've watched children suffer because of her poor judgement and decisions on the stand. In one instance, she made clear what her decision would be before the other side presenting their case. When the other side presented, they didn't couldn't refute the accusations, but it don't matter because the judge had already ruled in their favor. She tends to have a strong disdain for black women, especially those she feels intimidated by. She makes it a point to be disparaging and demeaning to them. Black men enjoy having her because she's favorable to them to a fault.

Do not be deterred if she's presiding over your case. Report her to the commission if you believe her behavior is biased or unbecoming of an officer of the court. Keep notes of your experience with her. I am prepared to engage a WasPo journalist who is eager to write about this judge and others who abuse their position at the detriment if children and families.

Other

Comment #: MD8406
Rating:1.0

Comments:
In a child custody modification hearing, Judge Cotton did not put the child's better interest before the other party's convenience. Sadly, from what I hear via other attorneys, this was not the only child affected by rash decisions made by Judge Cotton. She was easily manipulated by the other party and did not notice the misinformation. For instance, paperwork for the in-contempt was filed before the actual claimed visit (there was no visit). However, Judge C was unable to discern that info and just based the decisions off of her thoughts ("I think..."), rather than the actual appendixes and statements of each party. From talks with attorneys, it seems as though PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY is known for bad judgement calls, compared to Montgomery, Charles, etc.. Good luck to honest, hardworking families dealing with this court system. =(

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8390
Rating:2.4

Comments:
Needlessly disagreeable. Very insecure. Seems to dislike attorneys. Doesn't understand simple legal issues. If only the people knew.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8112
Rating:9.3

Comments:
very well mannered and renders thoughtful, and supported decisions.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD8032
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Cotton has a bad reputation as the gatekeeper for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status family law cases. Her denials based on technical issues often cause these vulnerable children to lose valuable time or lose their entire case.

Litigant

Comment #: MD7537
Rating:1.0

Comments:
does not make rules based in the law, denied me a continuous and said I had no good cause when I needed to complete discovery.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD7378
Rating:1.3

Comments:
Lazy. Doesn't want to work. If she can continue a case she will with no consideration to the lawyers or their clients.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD7232
Rating:1.4

Comments:
This judge is lazy and does whatever she can to get out of work. It's a travesty she's on the bench.

Litigant

Comment #: MD5754
Rating:2.0

Comments:
Judge Cotton had little understanding of the elements of this lawsuit, and she let the court proceeding be run by the defense attorney to his advantage.