"The Robing Room: NY State Judges

Hon. Michele M. Woodard	See Rating Details
Supreme Court
Nassau County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 1.5 - 32 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 4.0 - 3 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. Michele M. Woodard

Comments

Litigant

Comment #: NY7274
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I was in front of judge Woodard years ago. I must say that she was the only judge in my sixteen years litigation,(and I had eight or more of them)that could deal with my street -smart/corrupted/arrogant ex.
If she reads it,I would like her to know ,that until now I remember her as a little comfort in this horrible experience ,during a 16 years journey in the Nassau matrimonial court.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY6030
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I am very sorry to see her leave the bench. Fair minded, engaged judge who knows the law. Of course she isn't appreciated!

Litigant

Comment #: NY5876
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Horrible! In 2 days, 1 hour of testimony was taken. Participants and jurors were disgusted. Extremely rude and condescending despite her attempts to be funny. She loved to show off her power. If I didn't see it for myself, I would not have believed it. She said to be thee at 9:30 but she shows up at 11, then breaks for lunch at 12, then we are told to come back at 2 and she shows up at 3.

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: NY5765
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
This is what you get when you entrust public office to someone based solely on race and gender.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5696
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Newsday, please investigate further. The rating scale says it all. Awful. Not at all industrious. Awful. Late. Inflexible. Biased. Not involved. Not evenhanded. Awful. Does not communicate. And on top of all that, the comments of "not too bright" and "very lazy" also apply. Please nominate someone else.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5695
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Woodard has shown a pattern of ruling in a manner preventing one from receiving a full, fair, impartial hearing or a full, fair, impartial administration of justice.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5694
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I do not expect to win every case. I just want an efficient system in which my client gets a fair hearing by a judge who works hard, knows the law and does not play favorites. Judge Woodard has not proven to be a good judge by her lack of hard work and her lack of knowledge. I am not wasting my vote on this judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5693
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Woodard has repeatedly made errors in applying the law. In my opinion, judges who repeatedly make errors in applying laws should be removed. Voting her back would be a huge mistake.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5692
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Communication is a vital key in a court of law. Judge Woodard lacks communication and allows cases to drag on for months on end.

Litigant

Comment #: NY5691
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Thanks for the e-mail. According to Newsday she's not on the ballot yet. Even though I was told that Woodard made a dumb decision in my case, I could not afford to appeal. She does not understand how her decisions effect normal people like me. I listened to her in court and she acts like a child and treats people like children. I could not believe that was how a court was run. A real joke and both lawyers said the same thing, not just mine.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5688
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I agree that her comments don't make sense. She is not very intelligent.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5687
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I am surprised that this Judge has not been thrown off the bench. She does not communicate well and is not very smart.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5686
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Simply put, Judge Woodard is an embarrassment for all judges.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5685
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I would not vote for her for many reasons, one being that her comments don't make any sense.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5684
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Just read the Newsday article regarding Judge Woodard. Couldn't have described her better. Thank you Newsday.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5683
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Agreed. She's lazy.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5682
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I have been before Judge Woodard plenty of times. She is unfair to both sides. She knows nothing about the law.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5681
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Woodard is simply unfair. She should step down.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5680
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Whoever sent me that e-mail, thank you. I just read the Newsday article and came here to therobingroom to post a comment. I do not know one attorney who has anything nice or good to say about Judge Woodard. She does not know the law and is disinterested in the law and in her job. Cases drag on, wasting taxpayer money, the wrong decisions are made and more money is wasted. Time to move on Judge. The experiment with you has failed miserably. If they want an African-American female on the bench, select someone with a brain and is interested in coming to work.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5679
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Let's get real. Judge Woodard does not know the law. Plenty of times she's been caught off guard because she does not know what she is doing or saying at times. We deserve better. Wake up Nassau county. Don't vote for this judge if you want someone smart, reliable and rightly judges.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5678
Rating:1.0

Comments:
She is out of her mind. Could care less about Nassau county. Judge Woodard has been a laughing stock in our Nassau court too long.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5677
Rating:1.0

Comments:
The party that supports Judge Woodard would be making a BIG mistake. She is an embarrassment to women and an embarrassment to African-Americans. There are plenty of African-American female judges out there who know the law, will learn the law, will apply the law, and will work for the people of Nassau County. Judge Woodard is dumb and lazy and she thinks she can ride the African-American female wave to the highest position in the land. What an injustice another 14 years of disgraceful work from the bench that would be. Please give someone else a shot. Someone who wants to work and someone who wants to do the right thing.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5676
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Forget this judge. She is out of scope. Out of touch. Her lack of energy alone, is a complete waste of time. She is a bad judge and she does not deserve to sit in that chair.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5675
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Her lifeless demeanor stands out strong. It's clearly evident that she lacks interest in her profession and she should not be sitting on that bench. Voters beware. Thank smartly before voting for this judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5674
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I have been before Judge Woodard plenty of times and it just amazes me that someone as unknowledgeable and biased as she is, has not been thrown off the bench. She is so unfair to both sides and the clients we represent do not know the half of it. She does not represent Nassau at all and knows nothing about the law.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5673
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I trust Newsday to uncover what a terrible Judge Michele Woodard has been.

Court Staff

Comment #: NY5671
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I'm court staff and if you want to know what a judge is really like, ask the court staff. Here goes. Woodard does not know the law, she is not bright enough to learn the law, she doesn't know how to apply the law, she is lazy, puts everything off, complains about silly and childish things, and should not be on the bench. Many of her comments don't make sense. She has not learned anything in 14 years and should step down. I would not vote for her and I'm African-American. I hope Newsday writes more stuff about her so that more people read about her. We need to make our court better not worse with judges like her around.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5670
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Thank God someone has taken the initiative and sent out e-mails to make us aware of the end of Woodard's term. It can't come to soon. Horrible Judge. Dumb as a door nail. Lazy as a rock. Weird, really weird. Immature. Has sent the African-American Women's movement backwards. Get someone with some brains and energy in there.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5669
Rating:1.0

Comments:
when you can't write something good about someone, don't write anything at all. All I could write is BAD.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5668
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I just read the Newsday article also and the comments on the Topix Blog and I agree. Hopefully the voters will do the smart thing and vote her out. Any party that supports her will lose votes for everyone else on that ticket.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5667
Rating:1.0

Comments:
does not belong on the bench. does not know what she is doing. thank goodness her reign of terror will be ending.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY5665
Rating:1.6

Comments:
just read the newsday article. woodard is the laughing stock of nassau supreme. closed-minded judge. not intelligent. doesn't understand the law. not even smart enough to hide her bias. thinks she is untouchable. very poor communicator. lazy. immature. an embarrassment for all judges. difficult to work with. all of these bad character issues spill over onto her staff. nassau supreme, nassau county, and whatever party she belongs to or supports her, would all be better off if she is not re-nominated.

Litigant

Comment #: NY5603
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Hon. Michelle M. Woodard can act unprofessional at times. An example is humming when she does not want the jury to hear a conversation. She does not seem like she is interested in the job. She drags out cases, and makes rather strange comments. Our case is not over, and if we do well, of course, I'll feel a bit different. Similarly to a coach and referee relationship. But even as a laymen, I can see she is unpredictable and capricious.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4358
Rating:2.0

Comments:
Nice lady, but not too bright. Very lazy.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY4153
Rating:1.4

Comments:
When I write these reviews, I try not to cross a line of personal attacks, so I will start out by saying that Judge Woodard is a very nice person who does great work giving back to the children in the community with her mocktrials, etc. I also applaud her grassroots effort in getting elected. That stated, I think Judge Woodard makes herself look really dumb by making rulings from the hip rather than taking the time to actually research the law on an issue. It is a mistake as her rulings from the hip are generally wrong. I do not know how much trial experience she had before coming from the bench, but her lack of knowledge of the rules of evidence or civil procedure are glaringly apparent to all who are before her. Attorneys try to use her lack of knowledge to their advantage in obtaining rulings that are completely absurd. I have only had a couple of matters before her and I was victorious ine each. Yet, I have actually sat and listened to cases in her courtroom and been baffled by her lack of knowledge of very rudimentary things. She will make a simple 1 week slip and fall case drag on for 5 weeks, which is a disservice to the jurors, the bar, the clients and for judicial economy. She should reserve decision on everything and hire a smart law secretary to do her research for her if she is not capable of doing so.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY3825
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I just finished a case last week before this judge. It was a case that was on for compliance. Judge Woodard ended up learning the facts and law on the case while respecting everyone's position. She also gave strong , logical advice and insight into the issue. While getting all the attorneys and parties to see all issue clearly, she took four hours out if her busy day after personal issues dealt her a heavy heart that same week, and turned the conference into a settlement meeting. I found her to be bright, down to earth, and fair. The litigants also thanked the judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY2315
Rating:2.6

Comments:
Since when does she handle foreclosure cases? Defense tried to vacate a default judgement. She has no clue about the intricacies of FC law. I wish she would take a look at some key decisions before she letting someone bully her into a decision. Out of her league if you ask me. These judges have no incentive to read memorandums

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: NY2225
Rating:2.9

Comments:
Judge Woodard, here's an update from your bad decision which now affects my child. My child wants to attend an ivy league university(and is well capable / academically qualified). Due to your lousy decision, influenced by the ever incompetent Andrea Phoenix, my child is denied educationally, enriching experiences that would make her competetive and successful in achieving her dreams of attending Columbia U or Harvard.

Thanks for the road block you flung in my child's educational path!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY1747
Rating:5.3

Comments:
Nice woman. Unfortunately, not too bright.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: NY699
Rating:8.9

Comments:
Very fair - she endeavored to understand the facts and issued a legally accurate decision. I believe that justice was well served in this case.