Amos L. Mazzant

Judge Mazzant is a mixed bag. He is good to be before in the courtroom, in the sense that he is very pleasant and doesn't berate or belittle the attorneys before him. He is bright and can be thoughtful when he wants to be. The downside is that he plays favorites, particularly in employment cases... he's a definite plaintiff's judge. Employment cases, more than any other type of civil litigation, require federal judges to act as "gatekeepers" to sift out claims that might play to the sympathy of a jury but lack legal merit. Judge Mazzant won't do this: he pretty much lets everything go to the jury, and in that regard, he is as close to a state court judge as you will find on the federal bench, and that is not a compliment. The even bigger issue is that he's bright enough to know how to put his thumb on the scale without committing reversible error. If you're defending the employer in a Title VII case before him, expect every evidentiary ruling to be in favor of the plaintiff. With the growth of business and corporate headquarters in Collin County, you end up in his court more often than not... no bueno.

Gave me a fair jury trial. Keep an eye on jury charge. Balls and strikes. Refreshing in federal court.

A very incompetent judge. He has no clue about the basics of law. Copies verbatim the inconsistent arguments of the party he decides should win. Extremely vindictive when the errors in his rulings are pointed out. Unfortunately, the district judges rubber-stamp his incompetence. Result - costly appeals. Hope he is removed for his incompetence, which is sufficient ground for removal.

Pro government and hostile to civil rights.

Judge Mazzant is what you want for your judge. He's smart, flexible and hard-working. He truly serves the litigants before him and tries to be "user-friendly." The only complaint is that at times his being such a nice judge to appear before gets in the way of him making some harsh rulings that need to be made in civil cases. But overall he's a great judge.