"The Robing Room: NY State Judges

Hon. Richard F. Braun	See Rating Details
Supreme Court
New York County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 3.5 - 33 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 2 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. Richard F. Braun

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY11419
Rating:2.7

Comments:
NY Supreme should create a Dog Bite Part and assign this guy to it,

Litigant

Comment #: NY8836
Rating:1.0

Comments:
We have been on the same Case for four years and he has still refused to decide on the original Motion, even though four years of Mediation with his Mediator has not worked

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5704
Rating:3.4

Comments:
This judge is one of the three Supreme Court Judges in the Commercial Division that simply should not be on the bench. Each of them suffer from the same problems: refusal to read papers; quick to make judgments based on "gut feelings" instead of legal argument; and rude and disrespectful to attorneys.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5272
Rating:2.3

Comments:
He is a very lazy judge, who really couldn't care less about moving your case along. He allowed a case of mine to drag on for numerous years, allowing the other side countless adjournments. If you want to see how he will talk to you or your opponent, just stay five minutes in his courtroom. He talks over you in a very condescending manner. He also barely looks at you. Out of the blue, he turned on me and ruled ridiculously on a summary judgment motion. I appealed and won, and then he wanted nothing to do with the case out of total embarrassment. If you have him, he will never try your case. He will only frustrate you into settlement. He does not like deciding motions, because he is so bad on the law he is constantly appealed. And his special master, Mimi? She is incompetent and biased. She will be on the side of the one with the loudest bark. She does not know the law, nor has a desire to learn it. It is a very badly run part. I had the same type of case before Judge Gische before she went to the 1st Department, and had the exact opposite experience. I feel bad for you if you have this judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5122
Rating:4.4

Comments:
I was less than five minutes late to his part, and he defaulted me. Then when I brought an OTSC to vacate, he refused to sign it because I did not state why I was late to the first and second calendar calls, which were less than five minutes apart. I had to put in an affirmation that I was in the bathroom sick, before he would vacate the default.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4900
Rating:1.3

Comments:
Unfortunately, I have to agree with many of the negative comments here. I am revising an earlier comment in a more negative direction after more experience with this judge. In general, this judge appears to dislike his work immensely, and has a giant chip on his shoulder. He will belittle any lawyer he does not like for any reason at all, or for no reason. It will happen at some point, just prepare for that. Sometimes, he utterly ignores lawyers during oral arguments, and simply talks over them. In my opinion, this is intentional conduct designed to signal his superiority to the lawyers attempting to argue their cases. He often takes six months or more to decide motions, even simple ones. He is constantly having useless conferences. (Beware of verbal applications.) He appears to make some determinations based primarily upon his personal like or dislike of a lawyer or party, irrespective of the propriety of an application. In my opinion, he sometimes denies or grants applications to punish a party or lawyer that he disfavors. His part is not run particularly well, with papers, including signed orders, being misplaced or lost.In my opinion, he is not knowledgeable about the law in some areas, coupled with some poorly researched and plainly erroneous decisions. I have observed him decide one discovery motion against a party because he simply did not want to read it. He appears to enjoy flattery and blatant brown-nosing, to a nauseating level. His staff is a mixed bag. There is basically zero case management, other than dragging the parties in for numerous useless conferences. At times I have seen flashes of humanity and even a few fair decisions from this judge, but inevitably, this does not hold true and the pattern described above re-emerges and predominates. He is essentially unpredictable, and not in a way that facilitates prosecution or settlement.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY4811
Rating:3.3

Comments:
I gave him a high rating on industriousness because he is fairly crafty when it comes to finding reasons to deny summary judgment.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4661
Rating:8.0

Comments:
Sized up issues quickly and performed equity in vacating a default. Compassionate and hardworking. Opinion issued in 45 days of argument, which is exceptional considering the stack of complex matters he had ahead of us. His knowledgeable law clerk exercised an appropriate amount of guidance over litigated motion. I'd be interested in getting him for a trial to see how he does.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY4165
Rating:3.6

Comments:
Judge Braun missed his calling. He should have been a clerk at the DMV.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3888
Rating:4.4

Comments:
Has first call at 930 and 2nd call at 933. Doesnt matter where else you need to be in the building, be in his courtroom for the crucial three minutes of the call so that the motion you made six months ago which he finally has gotten around to hearing will not be dismissed because of "someone's" laziness.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3859
Rating:1.5

Comments:
Absolute nightmare. Process driven. Be prepared to waste time.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3591
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Pompous, unpleasant and mean-spirited. He seems to relish in intimidation and wasting of attorney's time. On one occasion, after jury was selected in simple slip and fall case, this judge dragged out the start of trial for 7 days, holding settlement conferences on 5 separate occasions. Case settled out of total frustration by both parties. On another occasion, J. Braun dismissed plaintiff's case on uber-techincal grounds pertaining to proper service, even though defendant was, in fact, served and appeared. Shades of Civil Procedure from the 1800's. Difficult to run a practice and have a case assigned to J. Braun. If you run your own small practice, be afraid if you get assigned Braun.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3494
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This guy is a nut and a tyrant. He's better suited running the Third Recih than a courtroom.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY3466
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I was a juror. He is hardworking.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3370
Rating:9.3

Comments:
I read with dismay some of the comments regarding Justice Braun which to me were unnecessarily harsh. Perhaps my quite different perspective derives from my having been a Special Master for him (I appeared before him years prior to that service both in Civil Court and Supreme Court). Justice Braun works hard, is prepared, thinks about his cases and he cares.

I perceived his attention to rules as appropriate, but not rigid. The problem is not the enforcement of procedural rules by judges but the failure to enforce them appropriately, prvoding the non-compliant party with way too much leeway to the compliant party's detriment. Yes, judicial discretion must be exercised, and my experience with Justice Braun is that he exercises it.

Waits during conferences before judges or on motion dates are too long and not an efficient use of an attorney's time or a client's money. This is far from unique to Justice Braun's part (who like most judges has hundreds of cases at one time).

I think that Justice Braun is a fine jurist and a credit to the bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3108
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I agree with every bad comment here about this miscreant; the two high star ratings must be from per diem creeps who love endless, meaningless appearances. I was one of the poor schnooks who was almost defaulted for showing up at 9:40 on a morning when a water main break completely shut down west side line service in lower Manhattan. Claimed he made two calls of the calendar by that time; only because my adversaries were at the bench arguing the motion when I walked in was I able to make an application on the record to "vacate my default in appearance". Essentially uncontested motions were placed on the trial calendar & still not decided after a year! This guy is truly part of the problem with the court system in NYC.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY2815
Rating:5.0

Comments:
Pompous ass who delights in belittling attorneys and litigants. And not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2802
Rating:1.1

Comments:
This guy is the reason that people hate the legal system. He is a horrible, nasty and bitter man who is apparently intent on exacting revenge on the world. Not interested in justice or efficiency in the least bit. He will look for any excuse to dismiss your case or avoid deciding a motion. In my recent matter, he avoided deciding a simple motion for over a year (coming up with various inane excuses for not deciding it over the course of four hearings) until my client finally couldn't wait any longer and settled the case. I suppose he's a good judge if your goal is delay.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2697
Rating:1.6

Comments:
Judge Braun took about five months to decide my motion to dismiss, which was a very simple one, then denied it based on a total misreading of the legal issues involved, treating it as though it were Bush v Gore when it was anything but. He called the parties in for a pointless hearing to issue the decision when he could have simply dictated it to his secretary. As other posters here have noted, he is an intellectual lightweight. His citations were totally off the mark and had no bearing on the legal issues at hand. Basically my client was forced to pay for an appeal just because the case was assigned to Judge Braun, even my adversary admitted the motion should have been granted as a slam dunk. This guy should be removed from the bench.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY2450
Rating:3.9

Comments:
An intemperate stickler for CPLR! He is part of the problem and never part of the solution.

Litigant

Comment #: NY2439
Rating:1.0

Comments:
He is a disgrace to the judiciary. He exercises no rationale judgment as he only deals with inconsequential procedural matters and pays no attention whatsoever to the substantive issues.

His courtroom is a farce - expect a complete abuse of the legal system. He courtroom functions completely the opposite of logical judicial decorum. Instead he provides chaos, irrational opinions and a complete disregard for a litigant's time, requiring attorneys sit for hours on end needless billing their clients.

He should be sued to reimburse legal fees to litigants who are unlucky enough to have him as a judge. Most important, the Chief Judges obviously should know he is disfunctional and incapable of performing his job and he should be required to resign immediately.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2422
Rating:1.1

Comments:
At or near the bottom. He hates to work; makes dozens of lawyers sit through his conferences and motions, lecturing everyone about professional conduct, with tedious reptition. Even his hard working and kindly law clerks appear to have their eyes rolling out of their head at his antics.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2086
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge is horrible. On a case I had, he told the attorneys they were REQUIRED to appear in court in the afternoon. He gave no advance notice. We appear and he simply read a decision resolving our motion and then said we were allowed to leave. What was the point? He could have dictated a written decision to his secretary.

As a result, my client got billed for three extra hours.

Moreover, he is a tyrant and draconian. His part clerk says that if you leave the courtroom (even to go to the bathroom) the judge will dismiss your case.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2074
Rating:3.5

Comments:
I have to agree with most of the opinions here, unfortunately. Clearly seems to hate his job and anyone involved in it. Making a record anytime is not a bad idea.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1925
Rating:1.7

Comments:
Judge Braun ran as an upper west side liberal so liberals like me supported him. What a mistake. A truly demented and rigid individual (see other comments). Thinks what judges should do with thier time and power is default attorneys who show up 30 seconds late, even where the opposition doesn't want a default, and tear pages out of briefs he deems too long. A complete waste of taxapyer money and everything that a judge should not be.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1909
Rating:2.8

Comments:
Has no business being a judge yet he's been around a long time. Bring the CPLR with you to court so when he asks you about CPLR 2004, you can fling to the page and cite it for him. He belittles attorneys for no valid reason and is an unprofessional bore. Bring an emergency application to his courtroom and he will schedule it for argument in a month.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1867
Rating:4.0

Comments:
On the two occasions I've sat in on this judge's motion part, I have seen him unnecessarily embarrass attorneys for "infractions" that other judges would just brush aside. Like other attorneys have already mentioned, he is a stickler and seems to relish bouncing motions on minor technicalities. I have been litigating for 13 years and in 5 courthouses, and I have never encountered such an unpleasant courtroom atmosphere. He runs his motion calendar like a Nazi. His second call immediately follows his first call, and if you miss the second (which could end as early as 9:45 am), there is no amount of begging that will help you; your motion will be denied for "non-appearance". That is a very harsh approach for a judge in a city where many attorneys rely on public transportation to get to the courthouse (and we all know what kind of delays there are regularly on the subway, etc.)

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1618
Rating:1.9

Comments:
One of the worst judges in any county. He only cares about procedural issues and not actually the issues involved in a case.

Do not be late to his courtroom. He will try to dismiss your case if you are not there for the two calendar calls, which are completed by about 9:45.

I have actually seen him make an attorney resubmit motion papers because they were over 25 pages long, even though he informed the parties that he was ready to issue a decision until he realized the motion was too long.

Avoid Braun at all costs.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1537
Rating:4.0

Comments:
Intellectual lightweight who apparently will do anything to avoid having to decide a complex motion, including by tripping up the attorneys with procedural minutae that other NYS judges ignore or are unaware of. Made us prepare for trial rather than decide a timely summary judgment motion, and finally dismissed the case only after jury selection.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY1246
Rating:4.7

Comments:
Pettifogging rule-monger. I have had him in both simple and complex litigation. He knows every NYCRR section and uses them not to facilitate litigation before him, but to avoid getting to the substance of matters in his court. Rude to the pro se's I have seen before him. A great judge to avoid, if you can. His one bright spot - he is evenhandedly obnoxious to all litigants - no favoritism.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY840
Rating:2.3

Comments:
One of the worst judges in almost any department. Arrogance which appears to stem from justifiable feelings of inadequacy. In way over his head.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY403
Rating:1.5

Comments:
Justice Braun is part of the problem and never part of the solution. An intemperate stickler for CPLR, he'd just as soon keep a matter pending on his calendar with no appearance by the defendant, as grant a default judgment to a plaintiff whose counsel fails to appear at oral argument on a motion with no opposition even if the proffered excuse is one of hospitalization with a doctor's note. Additionally, he is a political hack who lacks the intellect to move cases off his calendar because he is too reliant on his staff - a group which is both far too large and completely unable to make a decision without his guidance.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY347
Rating:4.5

Comments:
Overly bureaucratic and rule oriented just for the sake of it. Relies too heavily on staff to conference cases, and has too many of them. Not as smart as he thinks he is.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY320
Rating:3.3

Comments:
Lazy. Appears unwilling to work. Pedantic.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY252
Rating:9.8

Comments:
A bit rigid about procedural rules, punctuality and proper courtroom demeanor, but an extremely knowledgeable, fair and hard-working Judge. The type of Judge where, if you get assigned to him for trial, you should be thankful, but better know your stuff and show up on time!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY197
Rating:8.3

Comments:
He will drive you crazy with lots and lots of conferences, all of which are meaningless, except that they force face time with your adversary, and for that reason are conducive to settlement. And if you file a motion, don't expect to be heard at oral argument, but do show up, or default will be entered against you.