"The Robing Room: NY State Judges

Hon. Vito M. DeStefano	See Rating Details
District Court
Nassau County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 8.8 - 20 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 7.0 - 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. Vito M. DeStefano

Comments

Other

Comment #: NY13624
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Judge V. Destefano is truly one of the greatest, most fair, and hardworking judge in the entire county of Nassau. I have never met a more faithful and caring person in my life. He has been so true to his position, I could honestly say he among almost all the Nassau County Judges deserve more money. They never get raises or bonuses and work so very hard, especially Judge Destefano.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY12593
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Judge Destefano is the best judge in Nassau County, I would argue New York State. They need more transparent Judges who will work as hard as this man does. I saw a negative comment from another female attorney, I am a 34 year old defense attorney and he was nothing but respectful and kind. These people are mad because they lost their cases. Period.

Litigant

Comment #: NY12465
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Having made 0 progress over 8 costly years in surrogates court it was a wonderful change to be in J. DeStefano's court. He's effective fair and collaborative. He runs an efficient disciplined organizatized and just system. It gives Nassau County litigants a drop of hope.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY12012
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Justice DeStefano is a phenomenal honest, hard working and talented Judge. One of the best in the NY Metropolitan area. He gives all the cases before him his full effort and attention and treats all counsel and parties with the utmost respect and courtesy. It's a complete pleasure to have my cases tried before him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY11194
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Fair, reasonable, intelligent, hard-working, and excellent temperament. I cannot understand a bad review for this judge by anyone who has litigated to any extent in Nassau Supreme. Truly one of, if not, the best in Nassau - or any NY court for that matter. Our courts need many more like him. What we should all hope for when we walk into a courtroom.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY11028
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Terrific judge with an amazing temperament and disposition. This judge is a worker! Very happy to appear in his part.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY8840
Rating:1.3

Comments:
Judge DeStefano is absolutely without a doubt the worst judge that I have ever practiced before. He refused to read submissions and rule on motions, although he required the parties to submit numerous briefs (on the same issues). I believe that he required that the parties to repeatedly brief the same issues and then refuse to rule on the submissions in order to increase the costs of litigation and to try to force my client to go away. At times when he did issue a ruling, his decisions contained incorrect information. He openly showed disdain for my client and me. He clearly favored the defendant and the defendant's counsel throughout the litigation. He was often extremely rude. During one hearing he was openly hostile and threatening. He never took the time to learn the facts of the case or the real issues underlying the action. He made it clear from the first conference that he did not want to be bothered with the case and that he was going to do all he could to make it difficult for my client and me. In my opinion, his continued presence on the bench is an insult to the judiciary.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5775
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I don't know what these last two comments are about. I have appeared before this judge at different times. I won and lost motions. He is always working and courteous. He is very smart and smart enough to know when he doesn't know something. From my perspective, he looks out for lawyers. A great judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5774
Rating:6.0

Comments:
I'm surprised about the overwhelmingly positive reviews about this judge. While I think Judge DeStefano is ambitious and hands-on, and is careful to make sure that a case doesn't linger on his calendar for too long, I think his attitude towards young lawyers (particularly female lawyers) is unacceptable. When I asked for an adjournment of a pretrial conference (first time on) because I would be on maternity leave during the scheduled date, I was told "no offense, but will you really be trying this case?" My adversary (male) immediately jumped in with "I have no objection to her request." Since then, the Judge has made additional comments which suggest that he believes I am not steering the ship, even though I have personally handled every appearance and oral argument in my case and signed every paper that has been put before him. It's unfair, undeserved, sends a bad signal to the adversary, and is particularly surprising given that Judge DeStefano is one of the younger judges.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5767
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Terrible Judge. Took sides with the defendant immediately. Extremely rude, arrogant and lazy.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5254
Rating:9.8

Comments:
He is an excellent judge. I, like many others, have only good things to say about this judge. We need more like him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4923
Rating:9.9

Comments:
They need more judges like Justice DeStefano. He is fair, intelligent, reasonable, and listens to both sides. He is everything any attorney could want in a judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4860
Rating:9.7

Comments:
If there is a better judge, I haven't met him or her.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4773
Rating:9.8

Comments:
He's one of the best. If only we had more judges like him.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY4415
Rating:10.0

Comments:
One of the best Supreme Court judges on the bench. He's smart, he really listens and then applies common sense to the issues before him. He also often explains the reasons for his decisions which is very helpful.

Litigant

Comment #: NY3004
Rating:1.0

Comments:
He dismissed my divorce action Index # 202017/08 after two and a half years of ongoing legal proceedings while denying me legal representation pursuant to DRL 237, in order to cover up my husband's criminal embezzlement with my forged signature of $ 675,000.00 from the equity of the marital residence which I half own with my forged signature.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY2871
Rating:9.3

Comments:
It is nice to see a judge take the bench for conferences. He is fair, willing to listen, and let you do your job. Will accommodate scheduling problems. Unfortnuately he was just placed on the Commercial Bench, so the general bar has lost a good one.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2710
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Judge DeStefano is what every judge on the bench shoudl aspire to be. By far the most excellent jurist I've ever had the pleasure to practice in front of. Fair, intelligent, and hard working, and he'll be stern and throw his weight around when he has to.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2546
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Judge DeStefano handled a bench trial dropped in his lap with aplomb. He grasped the issues quickly and was even-handed in his rulings, giving both sides ample opportunity to make their arguments. I agree with the sentiments of the other posters.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2453
Rating:9.8

Comments:
Judge DeStefano is easy going and even handed. He has the ability to understand the issues of the case and to apply both a legal and common sense approach to resolving the matter. He was a pleasure to be before.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2252
Rating:10.0

Comments:
This judge was a pleasant guy and a younger-than-average Supreme Court justice. Despite his youth, he is smart and skilled at making attorneys see the reasonableness of settling cases.

In addition, I was impressed that he is smart enough to admit when he doesn't know something. When he doesn’t know something, he conducts further research or seeks the opinions of the counsel appearing before him for a case. Many other judges are too pompous to admit this and think they know everything.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1837
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Judge DiStefano has a youthful appearance but his wisdom and knowledge of the law is comparable to a old judge who has weathered the bench. He is a straight up judge who is not afraid to apply the law as required or make wishy washy decisions that only delay and protract litigation. He is respectful and courteous and will take the time to make a proper decision and will give each side their fair opportunity to be heard. I know from personal experience that you had better know the law of your case well because if you don't he has a street smart side to him that will see through any BS. If you are looking to waste this judge's time you better have a good honest reason.