"The Robing Room: NY State Judges

Hon. Brenda S. Spears	See Rating Details
Housing Court
Bronx County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 2.9 - 6 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 2.0 - 8 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. Brenda S. Spears

Comments

Litigant

Comment #: NY10861
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I am an attorney that appeared as a litigant before judge spears. Judge spears was unbelievable in deciding my case. She vacates a default but doesnt vacate the judgment upon which it is based. Defense to non payment was breach of habitability claim which was wholly valid when my landlord allowed mold to grow for 9 mos. and a bug infestation incident to the mold to exists for over two years. Severely allergic had pain sleep deprivation etc. Yeah I was gonna rock on my defense. Never let me have an abatement hearing because I did not pay money she ordered me to pay but they werent entitled to based on the inhabitable state of the apartment. So clearly pro-landlord it boggles the mind. Attacked me from the minute I approached the bench putting me on the defensive. Landlord atty. didnt even have to open his mouth. She must be removed from the bench. You will not get a fair shake as a tenant in her courtroom...and just for the record? Her clerk is horrifically rude and hostile and her court attorney was just the same...

Other

Comment #: NY10789
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I do not understand why this judge is allowed to remain on the bench in housing court. She is so vehemently anti-tenant making cruel vicious comments, glares, interruptions and is an obvious pro-landlord attorney. She takes pleasure in evictions and threats. There's no balance with this judge, no sense of knowledge of law and code; just viciousness. Landlords are thrilled when they know Spears is hearing a case. They are always granted evictions.
The BIG question is...why is she still there?

Litigant

Comment #: NY9697
Rating:1.0

Comments:
It's very hard to believe that such an evil incompetent vicious judge is allowed to be part of the judiciary.

She takes visual personal pleasure in ordering evictions regardless of circumstances.
She is ignorant and vulgar.
My appeal against her was successful

Other

Comment #: NY7642
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Brenda Spears not only allowed the landlord's attorney to talk over me and answer for me, she still allowed it after I complained. Judge Spears also could easily tell the building I live in is rent controlled but she sided with the landlord's lie to evict me upon not having a updated lease which he can't refuse to renew under the law. She said "You must think you are in a rent controlled apartment" and she laughed with the attorney Mr. Brian Starks. When I told her I have proof she laughed again and entered her decision to evict me for not having an updated lease. My rent rose $130 in 16 years you cant figure I'm rent controlled?!! Fighting this now with 111 Centre Street, with more to come. This Judge has so much history of being biased and unfair she needs to come of the bench permanently.

Litigant

Comment #: NY7356
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I was forced to lodge a formal complaint through the state judicial committee against Judge Spiers. Without hearing any evidence she stated in front of myself and another illegally evicted tenant that Spears did not believe that anyone is ever illegally evicted. It all went down hill from there. I hope someone judges Spears with the same bias and unfairness that she judges everyone else. If belligerence was a requirement of the judicial process Brenda Spears would be a rock star (of belligerence). An utter disgrace and waste of our tax dollars (120k per year plus expenses). Please get her out of the courts and into a federal cage forever.

Other

Comment #: NY6843
Rating:10.0

Comments:
This judge doesn't play games. She won't ignore air Bonn cases or anything similar and she knows when a "roommate" is a sublet. Nothing flies over her head.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY6270
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Very good judge. Seems like negative reviews are from disatisfied litigants who disliked the outcomes of their cases

Litigant

Comment #: NY6068
Rating:2.0

Comments:
I'm no attorney but I have pretty good instincts. This woman is terrifying. I wondered if I had met a 'dirty' judge after my landlord hauled me in there. I generally don't look people up on the internet, but I did this one. I may not feel warm when the LL is victorious (with little effort on their attorney's part, I must add) but I can at least feel smug about my metaphorical ability to smell.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY5964
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Brenda Spears is The Worst Judge

She allowed a default to be overturned without the opposing party producing an affidavit of merit or arguing a meritorious defense. And over six months have passed and she still has not ruled on a pending motion. She clearly ignores the law. She needs to be removed asap. We do all we can to avoid filing any motions with her and we are waiting her out. Hopefully, she gets rotated out soon.

She is the worst Judge I have seen in my 24 years in the legal industry hands down. I think she may be having a mental problem.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY5934
Rating:1.0

Comments:
My client's apartment had a gas leak which was reported to the landlord who ignored it emergency services were called. They had to break into the basement to fix it. The landlord then illegally changed the locks on the apartment. Before we could offer a defense, Spears ruled against my client until she could prove that she could pay the "back rent". It was overturned on appeal.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5791
Rating:1.4

Comments:
I appeared pro se before her when she sat in Manhattan. I was trying to get my rent-stabilized apartment back from people to whom I had legally sub-let month-to-month.

Not only did she deny my petition, she socked me with $1200 in legal fees. Tenants had hired Tim Collins and he brought in a draft lease I had sent these subtenants years ago (I'm a lawyer, but not a litigator), but which I never signed. She held me liable under that draft lease even though my signature did not appear on it and there was no other evidence I had agreed to it.

If filed a brief saying you can't do that. Her written opinion said my brief was not timely filed and ruled against me. The time stamp shows it was timely filed.

I think she did it because Collins is one of her pets.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5727
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Pro-landlord. Ignores the law. Condescending, obnoxious and rude. Frequently reversed.

Other

Comment #: NY5549
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I have experienced complete alignment with the landlord for the most egregious actions. I was not permitted to present my case for reasons unexplained hence the landlord's attorney was able to secure for his client business as usual with impunity. Her courtroom demeanor is aloof and cold-hearted. Her court milieu reeks with negativity and her staff clerks are rude and very inhospitable. There definitely should be an undercover observer of her courtroom and review of her rulings from a historical perspective. In fact there should be some monitory system put in place to review what takes place in these court rooms in general.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5292
Rating:2.1

Comments:
The New York Times is looking at her recent decisions, in order to do an article on her complete disregard for the law. I finally got the attention of a reporter who is looking into her long-standing history of making decisions that blatantly overlook the law in favor of landlords. She is the only judge with this reputation, and enough complaints have been lodged to call attention to her biased and unlawful decisions.

Other

Comment #: NY5281
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge should have been removed from the bench years ago. She is a disgrace to the entire NYC Housing Court.

Other

Comment #: NY5269
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Run from this judge. She gives all of the judges in the NYC Civil Housing Court a bad name. The fact that the Administrative Judge is willing to keep her on the bench with complaints filed against her shows just how far the Court will go to protect one of their own.

Litigant

Comment #: NY5129
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Spears is, without a doubt, the worst judge in the New York City Housing Court. She is totally biased in favor of the landlords, and tenants cannot even be heard in her courtroom. She should be removed immediately.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4893
Rating:2.0

Comments:
This is my opinion: this judge is both lazy and stupid -- one of the very worst combinations you can find. She practically revels in her power to elevate ignorance to judicial determinations. This person has no business being appointed to the Housing Court where she sits, and she should be removed before she hurts any more innocent people with her unlawful and ignorant determinations. I have no idea how she was found competent to sit on the Housing Court bench, unless her testing involved lots of pictures and finger paint.