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• Author: Mark Thompson/Elizabeth Smith
• Pages: 891-898

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ZEFF, Thomas D.

Temperament/Demeanor

Judge Zeff is “kind of imperious” and “less approachable”

than some other judges, but is “courteous,” said one of the

attorneys who was interviewed about him. Another inter-

viewee could find nothing good to say about his demeanor on

the bench. “I can’t begin to tell you what a jerk he is,” said

the interviewee, who added that he is “needlessly belittling”

in his attitude towards attorneys in his court. A third inter-

viewee said, “Yes, that is true that he is control-oriented. I

agree that he is imperious. I just consider that a personality

trait. I just choose not to let it bother me. I ignore it.”

Intelligence/Knowledge

Interviewees had no complaints about Judge Zeff’s grasp

of law. “He’s a smart guy,” said the attorney who called him

a jerk. Another interviewee said, “I believe he’s very knowl-

edgeable. He comes from a civil background, but I think

overall, he’s more knowledgeable” about criminal law than

some judges who practiced in that area. “He is much brighter

on the law than” some of the other judges handling crimi-

nal cases in the county, the attorney said. A third criminal

defense attorney said, “He came from a background with no

criminal law, but he has been a quick study. He is knowl-

edgeable.” An interviewee who has known him for years but

had relatively little experience in his court added, “He had a

reputation before he took the bench of being a brilliant law-

yer, an opinion which I shared.”

On Motions

One criminal defense attorney, commenting on Judge

Zeff’s rulings on motions, said, “I don’t like his rulings at all.

They are very prosecution-oriented. He is just not listening to

anything that the defense has to say.” That interviewee added,

“I have won motions in his courtroom, but that’s because I

had the law on my side.” Another criminal defense attorney

said, “I have heard criticism from other attorneys” about his

alleged strong pro-prosecution bent. “I’ve heard the public

defender’s office grouse about him. But I don’t have any

personal knowledge of that. I have made motions in front of

him. I can’t remember one that I won, but I can’t say that he

is biased. He does give what I perceive to be deference to the

district attorney, but I don’t know if it amounts to bias.” The

attorney recalled, for example, a motion to withdraw a plea.

“Those are losers anyway, and he reached the right decision

on it. I filed it, but I didn’t feel that great about it, and legally

speaking, he was correct.” The attorney also filed a motion to

suppress evidence. “It went before Judge Zeff and again, he

ruled against me,” the attorney said. “But I can’t say he was

unfair about it or anything like that.” A third criminal defense

attorney had no complaints about his rulings on motions. “He

reads the law, and he does the rulings that he thinks are nec-

essary. They haven’t all gone my way, but in important cases

on the most critical motions, I think he has done a good job.”

On Trial

Several interviewees offered strong complaints about how

Judge Zeff presides over trials and contested hearings in his

court. “He is autocratic. He is control-oriented. He wants to

control the courtroom and doesn’t like anyone to question

him,” said one interviewee. That attorney appreciated Judge

Zeff’s willingness to “dig in on the law,” but he is “almost

aggressive” in the way he controls the proceedings. “His

courtroom is very tight,” the attorney said. Another defense

attorney, who has not tried cases in his court but has heard

plenty from colleagues who have, said, “My colleagues have

had him in trial and have had really poor experiences. If

cases don’t settle in the first court appearance, we paper

him. We are sick of his act,” the attorney said. Two other

interviewees did not dispute the assertion that he maintains

tight control over his courtroom, but they did not find that

to be a major problem. “He likes to run the courtroom. He

has his own style of doing that. But I think he’s fair,” said

one. “I don’t find that he’s any more control-oriented than

any other judge. I think that just goes with the territory. I

think he likes to run his own courtroom, but I think he’s fair

about it.” The interviewee who “chooses not to be bothered”

by Judge Zeff’s imperious manner said, “My sense is that he

wants to get his calendar cleared out as quickly as possible.

He is obsessive compulsive about clearing his calendar. Yes,

his procedural instinct is for the prosecution, but I don’t

think that necessarily makes him unfair. You just have to be

aware of that and plan your strategy accordingly.”

Continuances

Judge Zeff is “pretty good” about granting reasonable

requests for continuances, said one interviewee. But that

attorney cautioned, “He does prefer for continuance motions

to be in writing.” Other interviewees agreed. “He is formal”

and “insists on a written motion to continue,” said one. “That

may rankle some who just want to shoot from the hip, but

that’s his role. That is not a hugely burdensome procedure

because you only have to get two days’ notice to file a motion

to continue. If that’s a source of complaint about Judge Zeff,

that’s kind of petty.”

Settlement

Judge Zeff “has not done much to help get dispositions in

the cases I have had with him,” one interviewee said. Another

interviewee said, “Mostly, it is negotiations among the law-

yers that get cases settled in his court. We all [the defense

bar and prosecutors] work pretty well together here. This

isn’t a toxic county. By and large, it’s a pretty civil place to do

business.” Another interviewee said Judge Zeff “plays a role”

in trying to get dispositions, but “doesn’t do as much strong

arming as some judges do. But when you have asked him to

get involved, he does. He came in with an offer two weeks ago,

which pretty much settled a case.” A third criminal defense

attorney said Judge Zeff “is one of the more proactive judges,”

but not in a good way. “His idea of being proactive is kind of

like, well, let’s see if we can get you to go along with what the

DA is offering. I have rarely accepted his invitation to assist.”

Proclivities

Criminal defense attorneys who were interviewed about

Judge Zeff said there is no question that his sympathies are

with the prosecution, especially with regard to procedural

decisions, which are aimed at moving cases quickly through

his court. But no interviewee accused him of flagrant bias.

“He leans towards the prosecution quite a bit. That’s the way

he is,” one criminal defense attorney said. Another defense

attorney said, “He is certainly prosecution-oriented, but he

is fair.” Attorneys said his most pronounced bias is in favor

of procedural efficiency, and in having attorneys do things

his way. Concern about his “imperious” style of running his

court prompted one interviewee to file affidavits of prejudice

against him in two cases. “In part, that was because I wasn’t

sure how his attitude would affect him in those cases, which

were domestic violence situations,” said the attorney, who

added that similar suspicions about the judge have prompt-

ed the interviewee to avoid using his services in settlement

negotiations. “I would be surprised if he was rooting for the

defense or was supporting the defense’s position,” said the

attorney. Several other defense attorneys said they had not

personally had bad experiences in his court but had heard

criticism from enough credible sources that they couldn’t

reject it, even though in their cases, he was fair enough.

Summary

Judge Zeff is imperious and control-oriented to an obnox-

ious degree, according to some of the attorneys who were

interviewed about him and who regard him as a jerk. Other

interviewees said he is simply a formal judge who likes to

set the rules and expects lawyers to toe the lines that he

draws in his court. He clearly favors the prosecution, defense

attorneys said, though no interviewee said he is egregiously

biased. He likes to keep his calendar moving and clear, but

he will grant a reasonable request for a continuance, if it is

in writing. Some attorneys find his personality traits unbear-

able and routinely paper him, but others said he is a decent

judge, at least for those attorneys who know what to expect

and are willing to do things his way. (11A)

Profiles Zeff881

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