Judge Duane A. Hart Supreme Court Justice Queens New York Bad Judge New York New York

By now, anybody who has appeared before Judge Duane A. Hart or read the reviews here understands that he is inept, lazy, undignified, and lacks any semblance of proper judicial demeanor or impartiality.  He reads no pleadings before oral arguments, preferring instead to make snap judgments and shoot from the hip in order to reduce his workload.  Oral arguments in his courtroom on Wednesdays resemble a third world kangaroo court rather than what would be expected in a modern industrialized society.  He enjoys ranting and raving about the overloaded judicial docket in Queens rather than making the effort to actually work through that docket and render sound decisions that will not be reversed on appeal (adding untold costs for litigants in Queens and further cluttering the docket).

It is also readily apparent that the judicial and political systems in Queens are unable to cough up the phlegm that is Judge Hart.  Despite being censured twice http://www.newyorkinjurycasesblog.com/uploads/file/Judge%20Hart.pdf    (for multiple, outrageous acts each time), and despite being recently accused of making anti-Italian remarks during a hearing in January 2015, the Queens Democratic Party has renominated him for a second term as a Supreme Court judge.  Since he will run unopposed, as is typical in Queens, the voters will have no choice but to re-elect this cancer on the judicial system.  He will do untold additional damage for the next 14 years of his term, and his absurd rulings will continue to be reversed repeatedly at the appellate level (at least when the litigants can afford to appeal).

But rather than merely complain about this third-rate judge, we practitioners need to begin thinking about a game plan for how to deal with him.  I can offer a few suggestions for those with the misfortune of appearing before Judge Hart, which I hope others will amplify upon.

First, if there is any opportunity at all to seek a recusal of Judge Hart based on any conflict of interest he may have, you should seek it.  If you want to practice law in a legitimate courtroom, try your utmost to avoid practicing before Judge Hart.

Second, if you are stuck with Judge Hart, then I highly advise you to speak with your adversary and seek either to mediate or arbitrate the dispute in another venue.  Judge Hart can be biased and unfair towards either side ‒ there is no way to know in advance who he is going to treat unfairly.  If you can get your dispute resolved through a private mediator or arbitrator, both sides will achieve a less expensive and more equitable resolution of the dispute.  Refer your adversary to Matter of Hart, NYLJ, 11/16/05 and Matter of Hart (2), NYLJ, 3/21/08 for starters.  Then move on to SCJC No. 56, In the Matter of Hon. Duane A. Hart, 2006 NY Int. 55, May 4, 2006); In Re Hart, 7 N.Y. 3d 1 (N.Y. 2006); Hon. Duane Alphonse Hart, Case #07cv5045 (EDNY); and New York Post, “Judge Accused of Making Anti-Italian Remarks,” March 23, 2015.  Finally, invite your adversary to watch Judge Hart in action on Wednesdays in his Queens courtroom.  That experience should be enough to shock, dismay, and disgust you both enough to run, not walk, to AAA or JAMS (or to try to settle the dispute amongst yourselves).

Third, if you must proceed in court with Hart as your assigned judge, then I suggest keeping motion practice to a minimum.  As a “Counsel, what’s this case about?” kind of judge, he will not read any pleadings before the oral argument.  At the oral argument, he will barely listen to the attorneys in his rushed, aggressive manner and will display his biases toward one side or the other almost immediately.  After he is done belittling the attorneys and their clients, whining about his overloaded docket, and spouting out whatever else is on his mind that morning, he will begin issuing rulings from the bench without having thoroughly considered the merits of each side’s arguments or reviewed the applicable law.  The result of any motion is therefore highly unpredictable and even a meritorious and well-reasoned motion can easily backfire in ways that you cannot even imagine (because they have no basis in law).

Fourth, if you feel that you must make a motion, make sure that your client understands that you have a high probability of having to appeal any decision made by Judge Hart.  If that additional cost is factored in, and your client is prepared for it, then go ahead and make your motion.

I urge others to write about how they dealt with Judge Hart so that we may collectively learn how to contain and minimize the damage caused by him.

Queens judge who once blasted the head of a judicial committee as racist is now being accused of lobbing anti-Italian remarks himself. http://nypost.com/2015/03/23/judge-accused-of-making-anti-italian-remarks/