"The Robing Room: NY State Judges

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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. Fernando Tapia

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY11281
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
He's nothing bu being an all around prick. He's a dummy and his staff is even dumber. His lack of respect for the system, the process, and the law itself is displayed by is attire in the courtroom. He dresses like a punk just hanging out on the corner. He cares about such minutiae that when you get up from one of the spectator chairs in his courtroom he announces that it must be pointed straight ahead! Another piece of the disgusting pie on the bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY10450
Rating:5.0

Comments:
Judge Tapia has a tough demeanor but when you get to know him, he's a pretty nice guy. He is incredibly strict about "no down days" which makes his trials run fast - I really appreciated this because lots of judges stroll in at 11 and take their sweet time with trials. Not Judge Tapia, he moves his trials and respects the jury's time.

Judge Tapia is not very evenhanded. He very clearly favors Plaintiffs and will bend over backwards to help plaintiffs lawyers. Both he and his staff have said they know their rulings constitute reversible error but don't care. It's unfortunate that Judge Tapia has this bias towards plaintiffs because otherwise he would be a pretty good judge.

His knowledge of the rules of evidence is decent. And he seems curious about learning the law.

Last, his courtroom decorum is lacking. He shows up in jeans or cargo pants and a button down shirt that looks like he got at Target. He will also wear sunglasses in the courtroom, which just looks bizarre. I wish he would wear a suit or at least cover up his casual Sunday BBQ clothes with a robe.