"The Robing Room: NY State Judges

Hon. Barbara R. Kapnick	See Rating Details
Supreme Court
New York County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 6.1 - 12 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 2 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. Barbara R. Kapnick

Comments

Litigant

Comment #: NY12669
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This Judge is today (in 2022) an appellate judge and the previous post from 2013 and some of the other posts are 100% ON POINT (i.e.,)"This judge is the absolute worst -- after reading her bio, I'm even more appalled by her arrogant lack of ethics and lack of knowledge of the legal process and its intricacies. What gives with her deliberate personal comments against innocent parties and her willful protection of obvious criminals?"

I argued my appeal (prose) in 5 minutes before the first department and she was the ONLY clueless Judge on the panel! She didn't know the law or my case & was siding with the unscrupulous criminal defendants and the other crazy senile judges from the supreme court! These judges make way too much money to be so bad! How are they employed in our court system? Who is monitoring these women? I am a female too, but some of the NYC female judges are really unethical, unqualified and obviously unscrupulous. someone must be incentivizing these women? there can be no other reason. Their behavior is quite obviously deliberate-they can't be as stupid as they seem--or maybe they are?? we deserve better than this ...these judges are ruining peoples lives.

Other

Comment #: NY5053
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge is the absolute worst -- after reading her bio, I'm even more appalled by her arrogant lack of ethics and lack of knowledge of the legal process and its intricacies. What gives with her deliberate personal comments against innocent parties and her willful protection of obvious criminals?

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3374
Rating:5.5

Comments:
Judge Kaplan is one of those professional law secretaries who never practiced as a private attorney before becoming a judge. This may account for her irritability and lack of patience. On the other hand, her Court has issued smart, well-reasoned opinions. She's probably frustrated that she hasn't yet been elevated to the First Department after years of politicking.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2635
Rating:3.5

Comments:
Her temperament and behavior are completely inappropriate. She is an embarrassment to the State judiciary. I was appalled to see the way she treats attorneys that appear before her. I am embarrassed for her.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2302
Rating:1.8

Comments:
Without a doubt, Judge Kapnick is the most lazy, most unprepared judge I have run into during my 30 years practicing law. She consistently plays favorites and looks to her clerks when it is time to rule. She refuses to read papers or even take the time to understand the issues before her. She approaches cases with a "one-side-fits-all" view and is unwilling to consider the complexities of each case. Overall, she seems unqualified for her position.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1779
Rating:2.0

Comments:
She must have rated herself to get a 10.0. She is undoubtedly smart. Her meanness is legendary. There are many attorneys who cannot appear in her part because of her vindictiveness because they dared to stand up to her. Don't get on her bad side. Let the other side speak up and shope she turns on them, then you will win everything, every time you appear on that case.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1580
Rating:4.5

Comments:
Limited temperament more emphasis on settling the case then securing justice for the parties.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY894
Rating:6.2

Comments:
She is downright nasty and unpleasant. But, in the end, she seems to actually read the papers and follow the law.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY861
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
The front page of the New York Law Journal on 11/17/08 excoriated this judge for permitting a plaintiff to sue a dead attorney for malpractice. Further exacerbating her error was the fact that after he had sued a dead attorney, she then gave the plaintiff leave to amend its complaint to substitute his widow. The estate of the attorney was a modest $17,000. Is this the type of attorney-friendly judge you want to try your case in front of? The First Department's decision could not be clearer that this judge went out of her way to permit a criminal defendant to make a claim against a dead person without ever serving him properly, and then continued to permit this miscarriage of justice to continue.

Other

Comment #: NY852
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
An appeal from one of her decisions was criticized by the First Department as follows: "This matter arrives before this Court as a result of a volume of errors rarely seen in this Department..."

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY829
Rating:5.1

Comments:
Lacking in judicial temperament: overly emotional and occasionally mean-spirited, especially towards women. Very smart and well versed in the law. When she tries to settle a case, she knows how to work it and generally does a good job. Don't expect fairness on trial or in decisions, because she plays favorites.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY775
Rating:7.4

Comments:
No nonsense. Direct. Controls her courtroom. Takes her time on motions. Her rulings are well thought out, and she follows the law.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY286
Rating:10.0

Comments:
A superb judge -- too bad there aren't more like her on the bench. Knowledgeable and not afraid to make a decision. She gives all sides a fair opportunity to be heard and then she rules -- 99% of the time, correctly. She takes care to treat all well and it's a pleasure to try a case before her.