Hon. Ann Marie Donnelly See Rating Details
District Judge See Comments
E.D.N.Y.  
Average Rating:2.1 - 13 rating(s)
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Ratings

*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
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What others have said about Hon. Ann Marie Donnelly


Comments


Other

Comment #: 35541
Rating:1.0
Comments:
does not recognize the indicia of domestic violence even when lethal level. Despite being a former head of the child abuse diviosn of the DA office believes that mothers make false allegations all the time and should not be believed. Has caused irreparable damage to many vulnerable people ESP CHILDREN.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 35214
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Send e-mail to this poster 12/6/2022 11:11:33 AM

Send e-mail to this poster 1/7/2021 2:07:59 AM ("I do believe reviews should be submitted with names or email addresses.")



Hi Ann Marie!

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 35168
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Ranked the worst federal judge in the country for a reason. Terrible. Makes up her mind beforehand not based on the law or facts. Probably writes her opinions based on "input" from the people she is supposedly reviewing. Her opinions are a one-sided rant which are incorrect about the law and caselaw. You are an idiot if you ever thought you had a chance with her. Just view her as a "pass through" and move on.

Prosecutor

Comment #: 35057
Rating:10.0
Comments:
Judge Donnelly is a well-prepared, hard-working and even-handed judge. No ego and steady temperament. She lets lawyers do their job, is interested in the facts and the law and strives to get it right.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 34303
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Oh Lord Jesus, this “lady” and I use that term loosely is an absolute nightmare. Let me paint a portrait of what you are gonna experience : Remember when you were a kid and were falsely accused of something you didn’t do and then you go to some old, crotchety, haggard white Woman with bad teeth principal’s office, who believed whatever the teacher said and made up her own new allegations and reinvents the story and begins screaming in between her bouts of hotflashes and then verbally abused you for something petty that never happened. Ann Marie is thee worst judge you will ever have : shes stubborn and refuses to admit she’s wrong , nothing is ever based on law but rather on Ann Marie’s hateful diatribes . feminine moods and biases. Ann Marie is a misandrist, she makes it known that’s she hates men. She overly aggressive in her approach and she will prosecute the innocent victim if she dislikes you, she has no tact or grace. She never gets the facts correct and usually just makes up her own. Her orders are basically the diatribes of angry feminist and not of a neutral passive arbiter. She’ll prosecute the case from the bench based on the party she doesn’t like, which will usually be a male and/or a POC. After seeing her as a judge and knowing her history , you’ll understand how corrupt the Obama administration was. She is perfect example of how only white women benefited from Affirmative Action- as she is patently dense and simple minded. Ann Marie will always voluntarily try to play Dr. Phil and do a psycho analysis of the plaintiffs and defendants. I’ve had to object many times and tell her she is not a doctor and she’s out of line . Ann Marie is a raging narcissist and extremely political and extremely on a power trip. Her courtroom has nothing to do with law and order but rather a place for a post menopausal raging white elitist/ feminist to lash out
her seething white supremacist and feminist venom to punish her imaginary enemies. You’ll be shocked and say to yourself, “is this really a federal judge ? Am I really in a Federal courthouse?” As you will feel like you are a 12 year old in a Midwest trailer park , getting lectured by an old cat lady hoarder who is off her meds.
Except the one positive review, every review on here is 100% accurate- this woman falls between a hot mess and a joke. The sad part is , it’s not a joke and Obama really nominated her. Dismiss your case without prejudice if she is your judge , a meritorious case can not win with her, she’ll look for any reason to make a Plaintiff lose and will never support her rulings with case law. Ann Marie’s whole shtick is “because I said so.” You will be hard pressed to ever find any other judge on such an egotistical power trip. Judicial reform is needed . Oh but that pesky thing called the Constitution. Remember she’s Chuck Schumer bestie - and that’s the only qualification she had and the only one she rests on. EDNY is one of the most corrupt venues in America.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 34285
Rating:1.0
Comments:
As a Plaintiff , this judge defines the word arbitrary and capricious and personifies the word frivolous. Her behavior is not judge-like, on the bench , she behaves like a raving lunatic, in open court she began screaming at both parties as if we were her children based on our lawyers making petty arguments. She then proceeded to berate me, the Title VII plaintiff, based on some alleged third party hearsay conversation that never happened but that Defendants lawyer claimed happened. With no evidence in the record, she sanctioned me without any due process and threatened to dismiss my case. A few months later, she randomly sua sponte dismissed my case , after having sanctioned me already without due process months before , based on some extrajudicial hearsay conversation she alleged happened because she believed Opposing Counsels arguments and statements. When my attorney filed a motion for disqualification, she refused to respond to it , as she is required to. I appealed. The Second Circuit overruled, reversed, remanded and upon remanded - disqualified Judge Donnelly for her racist comments against me , a black male, for making rulings based on extrajudicial comments that never happened where Judge Donnelly acted a witness and not a judge, and for abusing her discretion and dismissing my case without any valid reason when she had already abused her discretion in sanctioning me without due process based on improper extrajudicial gossip she heard off the record and making comments about gossip that had absolutely nothing to do with the merits. Judge Donnelly is very unprofessional, racist, extremely biased, no sense of basic fairness or moral compass and seems mentally ill. Like always, the Second Circuit reversed her again. It’s took 4 years before the merits were litigated because of Donnelly’s judicial misconduct. Finally, I won on the merits once the Second Circuit disqualified this racist political Manchurian judge. Apart from her judicial abuse and judicial misconduct, her lack of legal knowledge is shocking. How does she not know she can’t go outside the record and use extrajudicial hearsay and gossip to dismiss a case ? All non whites should Avoid this racially biased judge, she’s a nightmare and she not smart enough to be a judge, she creates so much unnecessary work for the Second Circuit. She’s exactly why Obama judges have a bad reputation. If this is the quality of judges being elected, then we will have anarchy soon. She doesn’t know the law and her orders aren’t based on law or fact and Second Circuit agreed.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 33856
Rating:1.0
Comments:
I’ve had 2 cases with her. She reminds me of a holier than thou Sarah Palin in a robe (both the good and bad parts of her) . I find Sarah Palin charming and charismatic. Considering Donnelly is a new judge , I’ll be lenient and explain both the good and the bad. Generally, It’s settled , as far as her competency being a judicial Scholar , Judge Donnelly is abysmally incompetent on civil law and is always being reversed on appeal because of her lack of civil experience and inability to apply the law to the facts .(see 04/2021 YouTube interview where she admits this )
Let’s start with her background : So she’s lived with rich white woman privilege as she’s from the Midwest, [redacted] Irrespective of her political background, she does appear to have a lot of potential to develop into a great judge, but remember she is still in her infancy and she was never a judge before Schumer.
The Good: 1) because she is from Midwest , she has this overly nice but passive aggressive Midwestern fake congeniality. If you watch her recent Youtube interview you’ll note that instead of law , she admits she focuses on her overzealous Obsession with proper mannerisms and counsels Court conduct. It’s annoying but refreshing. She seems to have been sent by Moses or Jesus to rehabilitate all of us heathen lawyers. She picked the right venue for her charm school judging as New Yorkers can be a tough crowd of heathens to civilize. So props to Judge Donnelly on this as proper manners in briefing and in open court with opposing parties has devolved in past 20 years. Because she loves brownosing and fake manners , you can get you really far with her , even when your case and Arguments are weak. She’s a stickler on character development so this quirk of hers can be a good thing if your opponent is a uncivil snarky white shoe lawyer. She’s give him a judicial beating for sure. 2) her rulings , even if unfair , are very quick , simple and lack any legal authority but she gives her “feel”
Of your case 3) she’s really easy to get overturned on appeal because none of her rulings are legally supported - so she’ll make you look like the best lawyer in town :) 4) she does yell but in a calm restrained manner and is generally very nice . She’s so sweet and likeable, it’s hard to believe she’s a judge

The bad: 1) she’s easy to bamboozle with lies and make her believe the other side is the Big Bad Wolf When it’s really you. 2) she has an arbitrator’s mentality and wants to do a Solomon and split the baby on every issue , regardless of who should win as a matter of law 3) she has an unconscious bias/ disregard for the Constitutional rights of the poor , racial minorities and underprivileged and pro Se 4) her mind is always made up from Day 1 and you’ll know the party she favors 5) she’s a cold bench and shows up unprepared and often confuses your case with other cases. 6) will deny Motions even when unopposed and as a matter of law should be granted. 7) has notorious and well Known reputation of having what the NY newspapers call her “Irish stubbornness” and loathes male lawyers and refers to male lawyers as “sausagefests” (see 04/21 YouTube interview ) 8) refuses to follow black letter law and hates employment discrimination cases. 9) will strong arm you to settle as she hates civil trials because of her constantly being overturned on appeal
Conclusion: she’s a work in progress but has great potential for growth, if you can shuck and jive, a young lawyer will thrive and shine in her courtroom, she isn’t fair when it comes to the merits but she’ll grant any extensions of time you need. She’s good judge to get your case settled for a nuisance settlement cases but bad trial judge due to lack of experience. Friendly and likeable person, who means well but stands on Godly moral high ground as she sends your case to the judicial hellhole known as the Second Circuit. She’s not my cup of tea but she might be yours . I like my judges extra mean and strictly by the book.(predictability) . Judge Donnelly is the poster child for arbitrary, capricious and .... She plays a lot of judicial mind games that I simply don’t have time or patience for. I’ve spent 5 years with her on 2 cases. (Almost her entire time on the bench) Nobody knows this judge as I do. She’s definitely a Decent person, but horrible judge for plaintiffs or victims, she personally believes every plaintiff is a get rich con artist ).

Other

Comment #: 33617
Rating:10.0
Comments:
Judge Donnelly is the best. I am a pro se plaintiff, and she has ensured that I do not defeat the process of justice by tiring of the run the defense counsel puts me through. She follows up with zeal. She is polite snd sensitive towards Title VII claims. I do believe reviews should be submitted with names or email addresses. If anyone needs to knock down someone who is obviously doing a great job then they need to support it with evidence.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 33397
Rating:1.0
Comments:
I’ll agree with most on her - she over her head and really insecure about her lack of civil law experience, she transfers her Article III Powers to magistrates even when neither party consented, rubber stamps anything a magistrate orders without any Review or even a comment as to why she upheld it. She just won’t even rule on motions to reconsider, she never decides any dispositive motions and is clueless of the issues , prosecuted the case from the bench for defendants in civil case, she has a reputation for doing this in criminal cases. Every lawyer who practices in District knows that she is bad on the law , her clerk is the Article III judge while Ann Marie does nothing but show up on the bench with a fabulous manicure and hair done , to start screaming at Title VII civil rights plaintiff. She is so hostile to employment discrimination so do a motion to dismiss without prejudice if you can , or stay if you have a good Magistrate.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 32720
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Hard to believe she's a lawyer much less a judge. She acts much more like a obstructionist bureaucrat than a judge trying to achieve substantial justice. She has no sensitivity to fairness. She’s always wrong and will never admit she’s wrong. Weak on the law . Knows nothing about civil. Biased and loves defendants in civil litigation. With her , the law is only meant to protect the rich and powerful and corporatations, nobody else matters. You will never be treated fairly as a Plaintiff. If you are on a contingency fee you are going to lose money.I think you are better off flipping a coin -- at least it would be cheaper -- than trying a case in front of her. But it's the perfect courtroom if you want incessant delays or if your clients are guilty as hell. If you are on the side of right, have a court reporter with you at all times and be ready to appeal. If you mention appeal , she will threaten you with retaliation.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 32642
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I have never practiced before Judge Donnelly at the District Court level, but have appeared before her in the Second Circuit where she was sitting by designation.

Let's put it this way: Not only is she dishonest, shrill, and overly aggressive in her approach, it is very clear that she is a *District* Court Judge eager to insulate her *District* Court colleagues from any scrutiny of their decisions. That one has the temerity to file an appeal, in her view, is proof enough that the appeal should be summarily disregarded.

God forbid you are representing a civil defendant seeking an appeal. She assumes your clients are *guilty* (not merely liable) from the outset and then proceeds to berate you and your client.

A walking absurdity with an attitude to match.

Litigant

Comment #: 24535
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I repeat Donnelly is not a honest judge She is monster on bench who use her duty to protect only criminal government department which rob poor people.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 23410
Rating:1.0
Comments:
I was surprised to see her sitting on the bench. When she started to open her mouth, I thought she was a novice prosecutor who forgot that her seat was in the front row and not next to the witness. Her actions were biased beyond belief and once she started to argue the case on behalf of the prosecution the whole courtroom understood what she had done. A judge's duty is to provide just rulings and check their biases at the door. This judge not only brought her biases to the court room but also her 25 years of experience as a prosecutor and the whole DA's office.