The Robing Room

Hon. Richard J. Sullivan	See Rating Details
District Judge	See Comments
S.D.N.Y.
Average Rating:5.0 - 23 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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*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=Chronic`y Late,10=Always on Time)
*Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation:	(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
*Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation:	(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Flexibility In Scheduling	(1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)
General Inclination Regarding Bail	(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Pre-Trial:	(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Civil Settlement Discussions:	(1=Least Involved,10=Most Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Trial:	(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Sentencing:	(1=Most Lenient,10=Most Harsh)
Typical Discount Off Guidelines for Cooperators:	(1=10%,10=100%)
Items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating

Comments

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What others have said about Hon. Richard J. Sullivan

Comments

Litigant

Comment #: 35220
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Leonard Leo must be proud you Federalist society hack. Judges like you are the very reason our society is fractured. Truth and established caselaw have no room in your court. You are an arrogant blowhard who knows or cares little about Rules of Civil procedure when it comes to Summary Judgment. Please continue to destroy our Constitutional Rights and hand out Summary Judgment like candy when it surely isnt warranted. Just above the law with contempt for honest citizens.

Litigant

Comment #: 34183
Rating:1.0

Comments:
To begin with, I am a physician who has been in litigation against the City and State of NY for the past 6 years. I was terminated from an institution that I had been a part of for 30 years with a spotless record and no disciplinary history. I was terminated after I asked for and was denied 2 days leave to care for my disabled son by a new chairperson who had it in for me. Unaware of the protections of the FMLA, I took the two days regardless because as a father I had to put my family first.

Fast forward, despite a mountain of evidence in my favor and multiple clear violations of the FMLA and Title VII, the district court denied a jury trial and allowed the City and State and denied my 24 claims in an astounding brazen act of injustice.

The case was appealed and Judge Sullivan presided over the case with two other judges denying my appeal and my subsequent petition for panel rehearing/en banc review. Judge Sullivans interpretation of the law was beyond clueless and I have to say a deliberate effort to ignore the precedent set in the 2nd Circuit and indeed in every circuit on multiple levels.

I have obsessively studied the aspects of the law pertinent to my case for 6 years, lost 100s of thousands of dollars , nearly destroyed my marriage for what should have been an obvious ruling in my favor with a ton of evidence in my favor and multiple violations of the law.

Judge Sullivan wouldnt know a disputed, genuine issue of material fact if it slapped him in the face. His ruling was predetermined and rubber stamped. My petition left no wiggle room and was an air tight legal argument which I assume wasnt even read as an real Judge would have had to sit up and listen to what was a clear and concise interpretation of the law proving an obvious injustice.

[redacted by Ed.]

Judge Sullivan should be disbarred as no one should have to deal with this sort of injustice. I now have zero faith in the Judicial system as my case was like a rape in broad daylight caught on video tape with everyone wearing nametags and no matter what was said or provided as evidence, it was ignored by the presiding judges and rubber stamped from the beginning.

I am looking forward to the day when he gets his just desserts and is removed. He should be ashamed of himself.

Other

Comment #: 28683
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Probably going to be dealing with the Misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, right?

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 25839
Rating:2.2

Comments:
Basically, he is a self-important blow-hard. Awful!

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 25833
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Blind to his own biases and Trumpian in his self- importance, Judge Sullivan makes mistakes in the criminal context that you wouldn't expect of a man with such stellar academic credentials. That being said, while I doubt it will temper his biases, I expect being part of a panel will improve his judging immeasurably.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24208
Rating:6.5

Comments:
Difficult mean judge who gets off belittling attorneys.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24090
Rating:1.0

Comments:
He can NOT be very intelligent, hard-working,and professional.
Bias
Bad prepared cv).
Very BAD Judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 24047
Rating:7.3

Comments:
Judge Sullivan is very punctual, by the book and extremely temperamental on the bench.

Make sure you read his part rules before walking into his courtroom and know your case inside out.

Judge Sullivan has little interest in settlement discussions and makes no secrets about his opinions on the case to the jury.

He is pro-defendant from a civil perspective, but he really is a hardworking, extremely intelligent, decent guy.

If you know your case, he'll analyze legal argument and do the research to come up with the correct answer. Overall, he is not overly even handed but an incredibly talented jurist; I would rate him as a slightly above average draw.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 22815
Rating:6.7

Comments:
Judge Sullivan made up his mind against my client before the trial began. He refused to listen to or even try to understand the evidence. Although unspoken at the time, his attitude seemed to be, "What relevance does any of your evidence have when I have already decided the case?" Very intelligent, hard-working and otherwise courteous but not interested in anything that would contradict his bias and preconceived notions.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 21711
Rating:2.4

Comments:
Worst judge in the country bar none

Other

Comment #: 21710
Rating:1.0

Comments:
The worst judge in the country bar none.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 20689
Rating:9.2

Comments:
I tried a criminal case in front of him, and thought that he was tough and generally prosecution-oriented (no surprise of course), but he did allow the defense to try its case. He did not get in the way at all. He can, at times, be a little irritable about certain issues but he is very hardworking, smart and professional.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 19735
Rating:8.0

Comments:
I thought after reading the prior comments about him he would be a horror. However, I was pleasantly surprised at his rulings, which were fair in the civil rights case I brought. His even handed rulings led to a great settlement for my client, the victim of a beating by cops, on the eve of trial.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 19287
Rating:8.7

Comments:
Always well-prepared and knowledgeable about the facts & law. Be prepared for some tough analytical questions.

Other

Comment #: 18903
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Shame on this Judge for being bias and applying ONLY his rules and not affording anyone due process. Hopefully he will get his day when he will not be afforded his rights. I agree with all the other comments about this judge. The only remedy is removal from the bench ASAP.

Litigant

Comment #: 18727
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Thought he was completely biased and uninformed about some basics in law -- and I'm not a lawyer. He deemed a document a contract if though it was only signed by the party that wrote the "offer." Refused to recognize that a document must be an agreement between two parties before it is deemed a contract. This was huge in determining venue which ultimately skewed the entire proceeding.

I agree with previous comments that he is an egomaniac. I watched him blow up at another person (luckily not me) with the veins popping out of his head and neck while screaming perverse profanities at them. Then screaming at everyone else in the room as a "warning" according to him.

I hope he is removed from the bench and that his cases are re-openened and examined. Awful judge in my opinion. And I'm saying this when I didn't even lose the case!!! But it should have been allowed to be in the courtroom at all.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 18718
Rating:1.7

Comments:
This justice should be removed from the bench as due process is not afforded to the individual who wrongly accused in civil matters. In his courtroom by his rules, it's GUILTY no matter what just because he is the judge. Shame on him and those who continue to support him on the bench.

Other

Comment #: 12966
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This an an egomaniac who thrives on attention and he is so biased in favor of the prosecution that he should be recused in every instance in criminal cases. He owes his career to cronyism within the DOJ and crosses the line between judge and prosecutor so as to undermine any faith in the justice system if he is the judge. He grandstands and finds any way to excuse illegal conduct by the FBI and USAO in order to avoid suppression of illegally obtained evidence. He is a travesty of justice, was not properly vetted by Sen. Schumer because of his overly strong ties with Preet Bhahara and the Bush White house. All you have to do is read the transcript and the record of his Senate confirmation hearing and look at his demeanor and actions as a judge and as an educator. He is prone to self adulation and sarcasm and is himself a disgrace.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 12910
Rating:1.3

Comments:
I dont know why he decided to be a judge if he enjoyed so much being a prosecutor. It was shocking to see how he conducted himself and the bias displayed in a civil case involving the government. No wonder he has the lowest rate of all the Southern District.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 12161
Rating:4.3

Comments:
A criminal defendant in his court is in big trouble, especially when it comes to sentencing. Be prepared for ice in the winter in cases where no other judge in the building would be as harsh. He will courteously tell the defendant why he is being screwed, as if that somehow makes up for the fact that his life is ruined.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 9834
Rating:1.0

Comments:
judge sullivan seriously needs to remove his ausa suit and put on a robe. any criminal defendant before judge sullivan deserves an automatic appeal for not being afforded due process of law. he is no different then the 'judges' in iran . entirely a show trial . when the result of guilty is already predetermined by judge sullivan . . he is the only judge in the history of sdny to consider an upper guidelines departure without the govt's asking and despite the defendant being a cooperator (mclaughlin case) ... only after 4 months did he allow dipascali out on bail . despite the govt's several requests that he be approved bail . judge sullivan thinks he is an arm of the us attorney's office to make sure the ausa is not too lenient . guess what . nearly everything in the us attorneys office must be signed off by higher ups . so there is no need for judge sullivan's assistance to the prosecution .... anyone who is unlucky enough for the wheel to land on judge sullivan is in serious trouble . there is no point in cooperating . he will still sentence you to the high end of the guidelines range . you can't successfully appeal that . also probably no point in paying for an expensive lawyer . you are doomed . save your money . hopefully the second circuit will appeal his decisions enough times to encourage him to be a real evenhanded judge ... to allow the jury to determine if the defendant is guilty . I'm sure personally he is a nice man . with the best of intentions . but his rulings seem to threaten the respect that the federal judiciary deserves

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What others have said about Hon. Richard J. Sullivan

Comments

Litigant

Litigant

Other

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Other

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Litigant

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Criminal Defense Lawyer