"The Robing Room: NY State Judges

Hon. Stephen Behar	See Rating Details
District Court
Suffolk County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 4.4 - 13 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 8.0 - 1 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. Stephen Behar

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY6233
Rating:1.5

Comments:
Justice Behar handed my two 10 year old children over to my ex husband when I requested to move with them. My ex husband has a criminal history of drugs, possession of an illegal hand fun, and domestic violence against me. My children are miserable. My daughter mostly lives at her grandmother's house. This judge either has Alzheimer's or is dirty and on the take.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5986
Rating:1.4

Comments:
Judge Behar was certified for another two years on the bench. That's bad news for the lawyers and really bad news for the litigants, who suffer. The only solution is for the administrative judge (who has failed his District in allowing this judge to preside in matrimonial cases) to finally remove this judge from a matrimonial docket where he causes so much harm and injustice to real people and their lives and families. Judge Behar is super slow (doesn't care), and though he thinks he's smart (pompous and arrogant), his decisions do not reflect a grasp of the case facts and history and are inconsistent and moreover disingenuous (he spins matters and covers his tracks). I have been practicing for decades, publishing, lecturing and holding various bar and service positions, so it is with perspective and experience that I make this assessment.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5867
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Nothing has changed. This judge is Real slow; decisions take forever and cases drag and are adjourned; this judge fails to realize that he presides over a matrimonial part - peoples lives are affected.
Decisions are inconsistent and at times really off.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5633
Rating:1.5

Comments:
Very very very slow writing decisions. Pre-Judges matters.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5485
Rating:2.8

Comments:
This judge does not belong in supreme court and certainly not for matrimonial cases.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5152
Rating:2.3

Comments:
I was before Judge Behar again. It was so bad -- and sad for the litigants, the real losers. Judge Behar has gotten worse. He is as slow as molasses, and pontificates without purpose or relevancy. The talk among members of the Bar is that one can bring any frivolous motion to Judge Behar and he'll entertain it, and you may get some crazy decision, too. There's a host of decisions and case management that will shock the mind. One wonders why the Administrative Judge doesn't re-assign Judge Behar to some position where he can't do any harm.

Other

Comment #: NY5142
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
He is a crazy judge who makes insane decisions and needs to be taken off the bench before he hurts any more litigants. He does not know the law or what he is doing. Read his decisions.

Litigant

Comment #: NY4953
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
This judge was involved in my post-divorce child visitation issue, and cannot see the forest for the trees. He could not recognize a frivolous case if it hit him in the face, and he certainly needs education. He needs to read up on litigation abuse. He just wanted to get my case off of his calendar, and did not do his due diligence.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY4479
Rating:3.1

Comments:
If your matrimonial case gets assigned to Behar, expect it to be knocked around for a long time with delays, nonsense motions (which he will entertain and take forever to decide), etc. Real slow, and no control.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4429
Rating:2.6

Comments:
No control over his docket; cannot manage or move his cases.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4244
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Extremely slow and incapable of managing his assigned cases; grave injustice to litigants. Seems nice, though self-righteous and opinionated.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY1751
Rating:9.4

Comments:
Extremely courteous to solo practitioners and respectful even when you're representing a "difficult" client. You can tell he was in practice and worked for a living. Knows all of the current case law and you cannot BS him. Moves the calendar a little slower than most because he tries to give attention to each case.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY1103
Rating:7.6

Comments:
A little slow but very thorough and evenhanded a considerate Judge who will not let a criminal defense attorney make any real errors.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY645
Rating:6.4

Comments:
You have to get past the gruff exterior. He does not seem to mind a good rejoinder, but don't be truly disrespectful. I enjoy him, but he would not be everyone's cup of tea.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY553
Rating:8.1

Comments:
Good trial judge, knows the law. If he was better with his calendar, he would be one of the best.

Litigant

Comment #: NY528
Rating:8.0

Comments:
Gets the job done with fairness.