District
16 reviews
Lazy judge, rarely if ever holds hearings, just goes on papers. Got him reversed twice as his work is sloppy. Seems even tempered but can be biased and unmovable. A very unimpressive judge -- I say that from 40 years of experience in 15 states.
Good temperament but often quite confused. He doesn't seem very bright, and makes some off-the-wall rulings with weakly drafted opinions. Already had him reversed in the 2nd Cir. once and suspect a pending one will be the same. For a very civil man, there's something missing in the intellect department. Also, very very very slow.
Seems to be even tempered but very very slow and not too bright
In my case where Hon. Alvin W. Thompson presided, I expected the stiffest penalty that the law would allow him to levy against me but was shocked at his departure from the sentencing guidelines and allowed me to get rehabilitation without serving a prison sentence. It has been 14 years now and a third child since that profound moment of when Judge Thompson said to me "I can find no instance in your statements to this court where you have been dishonest or tried to save yourself by not disclosing of the full truth"...Too bad your name is Alvin, I wouldn't mind naming my son after you.
In my civil lawsuit against a federal government agency, he showed clear pro-government bias!
I had a death penalty false arrest case.the defendants destroyed all the evidence, lied on the arrest warrant, and withheld evidence. the court ignored my 56(f) motion. he also disregarded my acts and omission claim and found intentional misconduct on 1 detective, dismissing the partner and the city from liability. then allowed my attorney's to withdraw after 5 years worth of litigation. I was forced to file pro se and the trial date was set 2 months away. I found a lawyer to represent me, and the lawyer asked for a brief continuance to learn the case which was declined. then he moved the court date up 10 days leaving us with 3 weeks to prepare for trial. then after the trial memorandum was submitted, 2 weeks before trial the defendants filed a rooker-feldman motion based on a P.C. hearing. the judge stopped the trial and took 7 months to rule. THompson dismissed my case without any caselaw and did not mention anything from my brief.I can only hope that one day his life term gets questioned by the 2nd circuit for ignoring the law and dismissing plaintiff's cases like parking tickets.I can only pray for justice....................
Docket is moving much more quickly. Great personality, listens well, fair and thoughtful.
Judge Thompson must be on a self-improvement mission. He's getting more done and faster, apparently after getting some long-lasting monster litigations finally put away. He's a nice guy - very gentlemanly.
As a criminal defense attorney, it's always a pleasure to appear before this judge. Judge Thompson's always respectful, well-informed on the law and facts, and mostly fair.
I was extremely impressed with Judge Thompson's demeanor and insight, the fact that he had read all of the sentencing submissions prior to sentence and that he was fully familiar with the sentences imposed upon the co-defendants. All of the above resulted in a fair, though not overly lenient sentence, for my client.
Stand up guy, solid jurist. Doesn't invoke any passionate feeling either way as I see it.
He should be impeached. His docket doesn't move, he is arrogant and a bully. And it isn't sour grapes like the suck up from Robinson and Cole states. He really is incompetent!
Great Judge. I've known him since he was managing partner at Robinson Cole and have appeared before him a number of times since. Can't say that I have any complaints about how my cases were handled. Sounds like some previous posters just have a bad case of sour grapes.
Judge Thompson is a dedicated public servant who takes time to thoroughly think through the issues in a case. He's always very well versed in the issues of the case and the relevant law whenever I've appeared before him. I appreciate his candor, intelligence, and ability to understand complex questions, even when he rules against me.
Judge Thompson is a decent guy but a complete incompetent. Every litigant on his docket is deprived of the basic right to an adjudication of their cause due to his inability to get any work done. No defendant will even consider settling a case if Thompson is the judge - why would they - the plaintiff is likely to die before getting his case heard. He should be taken off the bench or have the decency to resign and find work more suitable to his talents.
It genuinely hurts to appear before Judge Thompson. His docket hardly moves -- delays of years awaiting key rulings are not uncommon. And he appears not to enjoy the taking of evidence. He seems gun shy and reluctant to make decisions. An extremely frustrating courtroom for folks trying to make a living practicing law.