Melinda Harmon

A great incorrigibly honest judge whose long background in civil/business law makes her among the best in this area

Intense level of stupidity. Extremely vicious.

Heartless and not bright

Hon. Melinda Harmon is an unfair judge. Something she said at the sentencing of my son was very degrading and improper to the packed courtroom. He got the maximum sentence allowed by law and said she wished she could have given him more time. Not only that she said that those who supported my son were fools and were being duped by him.

The below is from law.com. I'd like some explanation from practitioners in the district or from litigants in this case to grasp what happened here. I'd bet the 5th circuit reverses if there is an expedited appeal. Judge Melinda Harmon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston A federal judge in Texas sentenced a terminally ill woman to 75 years in prison last month for bilking Medicare — an apparent record sentence for the U.S. Department of Justice for health care fraud. Marie Neba, 53, of Sugar Land, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon of the Southern District of Texas on eight counts stemming from her role in a $13 million Medicare fraud scheme. Neba, the owner and director of nursing at a Houston home health agency, was convicted after a two-week jury trial last November. At the sentencing on Aug. 11, the government recommended a 35-year imprisonment, said Michael Khouri, who started representing Neba as her private attorney shortly after the trial. (A different attorney represented her during the trial. That attorney did not return a phone call seeking comment for this article.) The unusually lengthy sentence for what health care fraud legal experts call a relatively routine case has them scratching their heads, even in this recent era of the federal government’s crackdown on health care fraud. Neba, the mother of 7-year-old twin sons, was diagnosed in May with stage IV metastatic breast cancer that has spread to her lungs and bones, according to Khouri, who has filed an appeal of the conviction and the sentence. She currently is receiving chemotherapy treatments and is in custody in a federal detention center. “Marie Neba is a mother, a wife and a human being who is dying. If there is any defendant that stands before the court that deserves a below-guideline sentence … it’s this woman that stands before you,” Khouri argued before Harmon at the sentencing hearing, according to a tra

Her courtroom is unfair and unjust. God forbid any defendant stand in front of her. She is a prosecutor with a gown.

Doesn't understand the Constitution when she says that parents give up their rights when they drop their children off at public schools. Constitutional rights extend into schools. This is a judge who shouldn't be deciding cases based upon laws she doesn't understand.

She is one of the worst judge. I agree with lot of comments here. She completely falsified and distort evidence to suit her onlawfoll and horrendous judgment. She has no clue of law. Political Affirmative action! How do you look in mirror, So called Judge!

An excellent and brilliant judge. While she can be slow to rule on motions, when she does rule, her decision is well-supported and "right."

I have read the commentary below and feel forced to add some balance. The people below are litigants who have lost and feel badly about it. That is not Judge Harmon's fault. She knows the law, and evenhandly applies it. A great Judge.

Its a farce that this judge is allowed to handle cases of a civil rights nature. She did a poor job of interpreting the facts surrounding my case subsequently dismissing my case because she is obviously a republican and is pro employer.

Absolute disgrace to the federal bench. I would criticize her knowledge of the law but it is simply nonsensical to critique something that does not exist. Even the generally right-wing 5th circuit is forced to reverse her with regularity. In short, her courtroom is the breeding ground for travesties and an intellectual vacuum. The only reason she got on the bench was her family's political connections and the only reason she remains on it is the shortsightedness of the founding fathers in not writing an incompetency exception to lifetime tenure into the Constitution.

have practiced before Judge Harmon for the better part of two decades in white collar and civil cases. She has always treated the parties with courtesy. She rules promptly and her opinions are thoughtful. I couldn't ask to be before a more fair judge.

Judge Melinda Harmon denied our right to a civil rights trial when Houston Police repeatedly refused to protect our son who was receiving death threats and who was ultimately murdered due to their inaction. Judge Harmon ruled that "Gays" are not a protected class under the U.S. Constitution and when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned her ruling she openly challenged Attorney Robert Rosenberg to bring the appeal back to her court so she could 'throw it out again" in her words. She is a biggot and has no place on the bench of the United States judicial system.

Very biased judge in favor of employers and business. EXACTLY the same experience as comment #8452 with regard to a MSJ!!!!!!! An employee with a smoking gun may not survive a MSJ in her court.

Judge Harmon is horrible. In the case at issue, the judge waited 18 months to respond to a MSJ, completely misread the evidence, and in order to justify her order and final judgment, re-interpreted the evidence. This judge has no understanding of insurance coverage litigation and disputes. Her ruling is a disgrace and was incredibly and unreasonably punitive to my client. Judge Harmon is anything but impartial and fair. Obviously knew someone to get appointed to the federal bench.

Rather poor. Too political. Unwilling to roll up her sleeves and delve into the issues in a case in an impartial, fair way.

She is not on the bench because of her merit. If she weren't connected via marriage to the Texas Republican Party, she would not be on the bench. She has the highest reversal rate of all the district judges in the SDTX.

She is so biased for the government in criminal cases that she makes Nancy Grace look like a defense attorney.

Extremely strong government bias in criminal cases. She's often reversed because of it. We instruct newer prosecutors to make sure she has a foundation for her rulings because she'll rule in our favor just because we're the government. In one case, a prosecutor at sentencing stated that he did not find the informant credible and explained his reasons. She still credited the informant's statements regarding the defendant's role in the offense and increased the defendant's sentence. Needless to say, she was reversed on appeal.