Comment #: NY13868
Rating:1.0
Comments:
This incompetent egotistical judge was finally removed from the bench in July 2024. He should never have been in that position. He caused so many people so much harm. Good riddance!

Comment #: NY13754
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Makes life altering dangerous decisions about children with total impunity and based on completely ex parte information from incompetent and fraudulent ' therapists' who are not even appointed to do evaluations. In bed with many incompetent ' forensics' ( see below ) Zero understanding of DV. Impact on child. FULLY enbraces alienation claimsas primary and ignores child abuse and DV. Could not be worse. Completedisregard of due process. Rules of evidence COMPLETE impunity.

Comment #: NY12836
Rating:1.0
Comments:
WOST MOST DISGUSTING JUDGE WALKING THIS PLANET!

RUINED MY 3 KIDS LIFE. I HOPE HIS KARMA RUINS HIS LIFE.

Comment #: NY12251
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I had to come before Judge Hoffman in Family court 4 years ago where my husband tried to hide his infidelity and abuse under the guise of saying that I was mentally ill as I worked on my Master's Degree and served my community. This all happened as I was on the brink of a successful career upon completion of my degree. At the beginning Judge Hoffman made right decisions to have me reenter my home when my abusive husband changed the locks and tried to indirectly tell the entire neighborhood that I was not allowed to live there. Unfortunately Judge Hoffman did not understand the depths of the abuse I was experiencing and allowed my husband to stay in the apartment even though I tried to explain how unsafe I felt in my home even though I was trying to hang in for my three daughters. I came back into my home with my mother to find all of my things bagged up. My husband attacked my mother and threw me down to the floor, even though I already had a cast on my left foot, following a previous abusive episode where my foot was broken as I tried to get away from my husband. upon finding all of this out, Judge Hoffman ordered me to be removed from my home which rendered me homeless and my daughters motherless (without their mother). That was the start of a backward trajectory in my case. It has been four years and the outcomes only led to further devastation for me and my family. My husband feeling emboldened by these backward decisions and rulings as he continuously violated court orders for visitations and caused further complications as the years went on. Had Judge Hoffman made the right decision four years ago and paid attention to the fact that I was being abused instead of treating the faux narrative on me being "mentally ill" as valid which ignored the truth and caused further damages, minimized the trauma to my daughters and me and led to more unjustified outcomes. Furthermore, these decisions enabled my husband as a manipulative abuser and facilitated his infidelity. I also wonder how such judges like Hoffman who make these decisions get to advance to supreme courts and such when they do so much undue injustice to people. He clearly knew there was nothing wrong with me and still judged in favor of my abusive husband. Even if I were mentally challenged there were no justifications in ruling in the manner in which he did. We need better accountability in the courts and we do not and should not advance judges who are not sympathetic or sensitive to the needs of women and children. They have no idea the long term effects of their decisions and the irreversible damages it causes.

Comment #: NY11983
Rating:1.0
Comments:
When COVID was at its peak in NYC, it was evident that my kids would be better off at their grandparents' home, so I agreed to let them go with my ex to South Carolina temporarily. My ex decided with me to revisit coming back to nyc monthly. After several commitments were made and not kept to return to NYC, in August, I filed a stipulation in New York Supreme Court to get my kids back to NYC immediately. The case was assigned to Judge Douglass Hoffman. Judge Hoffman is listed as one of the 'top' five worst judges in NY.


What happened in Judge Hoffman's virtual courtroom is a potent reminder of how mediocrity permeates our society. Lack of pride, passion, empathy, and precision for one's work can provide damaging consequences. It reinforced that yielding power is dangerous and brings out the worst in people. The judge lacked leadership, curiosity, and empathy. He seemed disorganized, overwhelmed, and frazzled. I do not have the confidence he thoroughly read all the papers that I spent thousands of dollars on. The way he evaluated the case was lazy and uninspired and lacked a full understanding of the weight of his decisions on my kids and me. The experience left me with lots of questions about justice, a dad's rights, bias, and fear.



Here's my brief account of what happened


In my first appearance over Skype was September 2, Judge Hoffman requested my ex, and I work on a plan to have the kids return to NYC. After the hearing, I immediately talked with experts, my kids' school, and others to inform a proposal for the children to return to NYC. My ex didn't respond to repeated emails and offers to work with a moderator to come to a suitable plan together.



We came back to court on the last day of September. In my papers, I provided everything the judge requested. Also, I provided ample evidence that my ex didn't participate in decision making in good faith and had unilaterally made decisions (before and during the court appearance), which goes against our divorce contract.



Judge Hoffman then provided a ruling that is impossible for me to keep. He asked me to travel 800 miles every other week to spend time with my kids. Note: I can't go to SC every other week because I need to quarantine for two weeks every time I go there.



Judge Hoffman's rationale



He focused on the technicality that I should have used a mediator before going to court.
My plan was too complicated and "flawed."
We are in the extraordinary time of COVID, and this is temporary.


My thoughts on his ruling



The Judge failed to miss a critical point: comfort and convenience are not the same as the love and support of a father. My kids need me now more than ever, and I need them. New York is their home, it is where friends and family are and it is where their school is, which is open two days a week for hybrid learning.



If not working with a mediator was a problem, the judge should have immediately thrown out the case. Why let the case continue and give me false hope for a month? Note: My divorce decree clearly states, "except in the case of an emergency, neither party shall initiate any court proceeding regarding a significant decision." My kids were kidnapped against my will. If that's not an emergency, I don't know what it is? I am a co-parent with 50% decision-making rights.



It is easy to blame this case on the "unprecedented times" we live in during the COVID pandemic. One time I asked for a lemon with my iced tea at a restaurant, and they said, "we aren't offering lemons due to COVID." I see COVID is an excuse in relation to this case. This case has nothing to do with COVID anymore.

Comment #: NY9408
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Dishonorable Judge E. Hoffman is not a fair judge—he rules from the hip and does not acknowledge the evidence. Discriminative and opinionated making Bias decisions that affect and impact children negatively, sending the parents into a misguided tailspin. Shame on this judge who violates your constitutional rights—whoever appointed him to rule on anyone's behalf in family court obviously did not do his/her research nor did they have this bias judge judicate on behalf of one of his friends or family members.

Comment #: NY9407
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Hon. Douglas E. Hoffman should be removed from serving in family court. He unfair and destroys families making bias decisions, violating the rights of individuals and making lopsided rulings without reviewing the evidence.

Comment #: NY8482
Rating:1.0
Comments:
A very powerful figure in the family court system, Hoffman is the supervising judge for the New York County Family Court. He has held this position since 2009. He was reappointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, without any public hearing, in April, 2015, for an excessive term that will expire in 2025. He also works as an acting justice in the Bronx Supreme Court. In Manhattan, Hoffman has taken on many of the cases from disgraced judge Gloria Sosa Lintner, who was removed from the bench in January 2016 (see below). However, he has continued much of her family-destroying conduct. This is especially true in the Matter of Altman, where he has failed to move the case forward, and to give the parties any fair and comprehensive hearing. This is a violation of the following New York judicial cannons: Section 100.3(B) (6) (“A judge shall accord to every person who has a legal interest in a proceeding, or that person’s lawyer, the right to be heard according to law”) and Section 100.3(B) (7) (“A judge shall dispose of all judicial matters promptly.”) One example of his erratic, damaging and suspicious conduct was in his appointment of Dr. Sara Weiss as a forensic evaluator in a case where all parties – including the attorney for the child, Philip Schiff Esq – opposed her appointment, because of potential harm to the subject-child. When asked by the Families Civil Liberties Union why he had ignored the requests of the child and all parties by appointing Dr Weiss, and whether he had any business or personal relationship with Dr Weiss, Judge Hoffman declined to respond. According to an investigation by the Child Victims of the Family courts, Hoffman has “committed grave errors in legal adjudication which were allowed to go unchallenged because of clear conflict of interest relationships on the Appellate Court and courts were closed to court watchers, violations of the open court system of New York. He is also following the same malignant process of cronyism, overlooking multiple forms of violations; appointment of questionable experts, a get along to go along practice of local politics of an immoral, unethical, improper level of legal practice.”

Comment #: NY2827
Rating:9.3
Comments:
Very good judge. Smart. Hardworking. Fair. Can't ask for more.