J. Paul Oetken

Badly written opinions... He writes opinions that are so completely wrong on the law that it is difficult to believe that he makes any attempt to get a decision right. He cites decisions for the exact opposite of what they stand for and genuinely rude about it to attorneys appearing before him. So many of a judge's failings would be tolerable if they were professional toward attorneys or at least gave the impression of trying to apply the law. Instead, your case has to go before the Second Circuit, and your clients have to spend thousands of dollars more, to get basic rulings that you should have received from the outset. It's my belief that he knowingly issues wrong decisions based upon his political views because he does not like the law. This is someone that shouldn't be on the bench.

A gentleman. Scrupulously fair, practical and direct. Treats lawyers with respect and knows his stuff.

Don’t expect a fair trial. He is pro government.

Judge Oetken is pleasant and industrious. However, his corporate background shows. Unfortunately, he has adopted the Scalia/Thomas philosophy of hyper-textualism of the type that would, for example, have found the ACA invalid as a result of Congressional typos (see Scalia dissent in King v. Burwell) -- contrary to the very clear intent of Congress and common sense. This is not a judge that should be elevated to the 2d Circuit, much less the Supreme Court (per recent rumors).