"The Robing Room: NY State Judges

Hon. Eileen A. Rakower	See Rating Details
Civil Court
New York County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 4.5 - 31 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 4 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. Eileen A. Rakower

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY12554
Rating:1.5

Comments:
I've been before this "judge" several times and each time, and, in, my opinion, she's favored Caucasian attorneys, especially Jewish attorneys. As such, I think that if you don't fit the category (and a person of color), you are out of luck. It's shocking that a judge like her is still actively serving -- and it's 2021. When I found out she's "retiring," I thought the legal system would be so much better because of it. GOOD RIDDANCE!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY12301
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Having practiced for over 20 years and now having appeared before this judge now several times, I can honestly say that she is the laziest, most politically motivated, irascible, rude, dimwitted and incompetent judge in the New York County S. Ct. She appears to require oral argument simply to make dismissing cases against the city easier (decides through short form orders which merely reference the oral argument transcript), ignores any points made in the brief or in oral argument, fills the record with shrill, shouted reprimands (and goes on and on in that manner) should you attempt to point this out, then recites a few bullet points from the City's brief as a substitute for a considered judicial rationale. It would not surprise me if every one of the few ludicrous "10" grades she received here was from a member of the city council or corporate counsel's office. J. Hakower is anything but "honorable" - an embarrassment to the judiciary who should be removed from the bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY11995
Rating:1.3

Comments:
Awful temperament, matched by awful grasp of the law.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY11971
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Justice Rakower handled a complex civil matter quickly, efficiently, and with diligence. She had read and absorbed all the hundreds of pages of materials, knew the law, gave all sides ample opportunity to present their arguments, asked insightful questions, and ruled promptly.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY11805
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Rakower was assigned to the role of Supreme Court Judge by the Administrative Judge. She is not an elected Justice of the Supreme Court. Someone should review her decisions on cases filed against the City of New York, and specific assignment of these cases to her Part.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY11804
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Politically motivated and decides cases for the City despite that the decision is not supported by the law or the facts. She flat out ignores the law and the facts. Her orders and decisions necessitate costly appeals which she hopes working class people cannot afford to pursue.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY10032
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Rakower treats everything as an imposition; motions, arguments, litigants, the entire system - and it shows in the decisions she puts out. Not a scholar of the law by any stretch. I think one would be hard pressed to even call her a student, given her complete lack of interest in getting to the bottom of things. She gets things wrong and, even worse, invents her own facts to steer her decisions into a convenient result. Convenient, in her case, being anything that results in less work. I have seen her deny voluminous, well-briefed motions in three sentences; heavily relies on short form orders that make you wonder whether she has read the papers at all.

"Motion denied. Things are progressing."

Well, that's a strange way to deny a motion to dismiss.

Don't bother asking why. You cannot explain her judicial whims with anything other than laziness.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY9708
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Ignorant, hostile to the point of abuse, well versed solely in evading her responsibilities.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY9663
Rating:1.0

Comments:
If you’re looking for an undertaker for the oligarchy, you’re in luck. If you’re looking for someone to scream and cut you off when trying to present evidence that hampers her morgue duty, you’re in luck.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY9654
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Abusive. Primarily concerned with avoiding work and closing cases.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY9627
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I've been trying cases for about 50 years and she's my all-time favorite judge. She's very smart, hard-working and my experience at several trials before her is that she is absolutely fair to both sides. I found her to be extremely courteous to the attorneys, solicitous to the jury and witnesses and very pleasant to her office staff. Her rulings, both in my favor and against me, were thoughtful and error-free. She was so competent and judicial that she maintained the respect of everyone in the court room. In my latest trial before her there were several rather complex evidentiary questions and her research on the issues was even more extensive than my adversary's or mine. I think she is a really excellent judge who is a terrific assignment for either side.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY9570
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I understand that the court system is a meat grinder and she is overwhelmed with poor, unrepresented and often uneducated litigants, but I'd still like to see her do more than shriek like a howler monkey.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY9261
Rating:9.4

Comments:
A terrific judge. Read the papers and was thoroughly versed in the issues and the law. Asked sharp,incisive questions. Judge Rakower has a good, no nonsense temperament. Any bad review about her temperament is likely from someone who was unprepared or made repetitive arguments, for which she has no patience.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY9128
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Bigoted. Mocks accents & English language stumbles. A screamer.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY8546
Rating:2.5

Comments:
This judge has about as much business being on the bench as a midget has playing center for an NBA team. She is ignorant of the law, and her bipolar temperament would be put to better use as a matron in a nuthouse than as a judge in the N.Y.S. Supreme Court. Not one of the worst in that system; which is a sad commentary on the average competence level of the state court judiciary.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY8455
Rating:2.0

Comments:
awful. I got her reversed when she was a civil court judge by ghost writing an appeal when she refused to lift a stay of moneys that were from social security. Doesn't like to be challenged. She will demean you if you challenge her intellect in any way. I made that mistake and she made ad hominem attacks against me and "ordered the record." She ruled in my favor by one little sliver that would have made a trial a waste of time, then reversed herself when the big law firm simultaneously moved for reargument and appealed at the same time. The case had political undertones and therefore was fraught with tension. She couldn't bide by them, and, frankly, neither could I. I hope never to see her again, let alone appear in her courtroom.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY7806
Rating:10.0

Comments:
She really is one of the best sitting on the state court trial bench today, in my view. Extremely well prepared for a SJM -- understood applicable law and the complicated facts argued by both sides. She was fair and courteous.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY7692
Rating:8.8

Comments:
This judge performed her job well and the new York county bar should be proud. Having done most of my trial work on long island, I was concerned about getting a fair trial. While I did not agree with some of her rulings, she was fair, courteous, and pleasant to work with. Great with the jury and really helped bring the matter to a resolution.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY7415
Rating:1.0

Comments:
i was in this judge's courtroom approx. 10 times for perhaps 15 hours total; saw her once for 10 minutes, doing nothing; clerks regularly give conflicting information; all in all, an extremely poorly run courtroom and "do-nothing"judge

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY6997
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Nasty. Mean spirited. The sort of person Americans love and call "tough" and "no nonsense" but that's just code for being ugly.

Litigant

Comment #: NY6906
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Careless with the facts. She is condescending and overly impatient. When you challenge her ruling, she's quick to say I could appeal to 25th Street. I don't know what that meant but I'm pro se, so appeal is too expensive for me. I felt berated and insulted by this lady who wears a black robe.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY6693
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Excellent Judge. She clearly reads papers with care. Her demeanor is firm, but not overly contentious. Probably the best Judge I have had in over a decade.

Other

Comment #: NY5468
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Very poor behavior for a judge. She mocked a witness' personality after the witness left the stand, in front of both counselors. Childish behavior, not even worthy of traffic court and definitely not appropriate for this civil matter.

Other

Comment #: NY5285
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Is this the direction of the judicial system in America? It is both sad and frightening.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5279
Rating:2.1

Comments:
I never appeared before her until today. I read the ratings, so I had a bad feeling, but I was willing to give her a chance. I watched her for a couple of hours. She was very polite and gave people time to speak, so I thought that the ratings were wrong. I was ready for a pleasant surprise until she got to my case. It was painful. She was rude and condescending, she yelled and cut my side off repeatedly, she misstated both the facts and the law, refused to allow testimony (we begged her to do so, because she was mangling the facts so badly) and the whole thing felt like the Jerry Springer Show, not like a courtroom. The one good thing is that it's all on record for appeal.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5085
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
This judge is clearly defendant-oriented in B.I. cases, and concocts absurd arguments to support her rulings.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY4829
Rating:1.1

Comments:
A disgusting excuse for a law enforcement official and a sick human being. She should have her title stripped from her. I hope she experiences the same torture and pain she has put others through.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4300
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Said she hoped "i never appeared before her again AFTER we got off the record. BARELY decided in my favor but reversed me on reargument. In summary judgment, when credibility is not supposed to me an issue, called my client's deposition testimony "evasive." It was not, and when I asked her where the record showed as much, she and her clerk spent five minutes looking for it. I made the mistake of saying, "let the record reflect that five minutes have passed and you haven't found it." My bad judgment for openingly criticizing a judge like that, but evasiveness is not a factor on summary judgment, and she HAD used five minutes. I will ask her to recuse herself on any case I appear before her in the future. She accused me of yelling at her when she attacked my client as evasive on the papers, then cleverly waited till the reord was closed before saying she hoped I never appeared before herm again. I apologized instead of insisting that be placed on the record. My mistake. She's a lousy judge who needs to be taken on.

Other

Comment #: NY3487
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Seems friendly at first but then totally change's over the process of trial. She did not look professional at all. She is one of the worst judges i have ever been in front of. She has prejudice and side's in favor of the defense. She also accept invalid information.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3271
Rating:2.3

Comments:
Utterly lacks judicial temperament, scholarship is poor beyond belief. Needs to be relieved of her duty before something disastrous happens. If she is actually writing these decisions then something has gone seriously wrong in the judiciary.

Other

Comment #: NY3245
Rating:2.0

Comments:
She made numerous errors -
accepting evidence that was defective - it was a foreclosure case in which she failed to properly scrutinize the documents and blindly accepted what ever the banks attorney's alleged. Prejudiced
on the side of the creditors

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3205
Rating:4.6

Comments:
Starts with a smile, but for lengthy proceedings like trial, agreed, that can become one of the nastiest and rudest judges. She favors gut-style presentations by the attorneys, and herself doles it out from the bench. Scoffed at pretrial motions to preclude complex evidence, then became meddlesome and impatient during its presentation, disfavoring side-bars smooth the wrinkles, having no qualms to make either attorney miserable in front of the jury.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2706
Rating:9.3

Comments:
Exceptional state court judge. Extremely well-prepared on dispositive motion, scheduled and allowed lengthy oral argument at designated motion appearance (as opposed to normal cattle call with rushed arguments) and decisively issued well-reasoned decision from the bench without reserving decision. Read every single submission and exhibit. Even the losing party said she was great. Refreshing.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2218
Rating:2.4

Comments:
For a woman she does not seem to want to protect women's rights

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1892
Rating:9.8

Comments:
A pleasure to try a case in front of-punctual, pleasant disposition and intelligent. They should all be like her.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1069
Rating:9.4

Comments:
I was extremely impressed with this Judge's familiarity with the facts of each case argued before her on her motion day. She apppears to be extremely diligent in her preparation and has an excellent hold of the law.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY977
Rating:9.8

Comments:
A lovely polite woman who appreciates fairness. Level judicial temperament and not yet too impressed with her status as a judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY707
Rating:2.0

Comments:
She is one of the nastiest and rudest judges I have ever been before. She will make the plaintiff's attorney miserable and favor the defense right in front of the jury.