--- title: "Eileen A. Rakower | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eileen-a-rakower-15026" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-02" --- # Eileen A. Rakower Civil Court of the City of New York · Judge ## Profile - Court: Civil Court of the City of New York - State: New York - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-06-30 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, Civil Court of the City of New York, New York, NY, 1997-present - Rakower held the role of an acting justice until her voluntary retirement in early 2022 - Judge, Civil Court of the City of New York, New York, NY, 2017-2022 - Acting Justice, New York Supreme Court, New York, NY, 2006-2022 - 2006–2022: Acting Justice, New York County Supreme Court (appointed by Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman) - 1997–2021: Judge, Civil Court of the City of New York (Manhattan 4th Municipal Court District) - Judge, Civil Court of the City of New York, New York, NY, 2007-2016 - Initially elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York in 1997 and later appointed to the New York County Supreme Court in 2006 by Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman - Associate Law Assistant, New York Unified Court System, NY, 1987-1989 - Acting justice of the New York County Supreme Court (Civil Term) in New York’s First Judicial District ### Education - Yeshiva University — J.D. (1984) - Cardoza School of Law in — J.D. (1984) - B.A. — State University of New York at Binghamton in 1981 ### Additional information - Law Assistant, New York Unified Court System, New York, NY, 1987-present - Principal Law Assistant, New York Unified Court System, NY, 1989-1997 - Practitioner, Legal Aid Society, NY, 1984-1987 - BA — SUNY at Binghamton — 1981 - Registered as a Democrat - Key takeaway: Judge Eileen A. Rakower is a veteran New York judicial figure with a long career in both public service and the legal aid sector, known for notable rulings on First Amendment issues, administrative law, and urban development projects ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### recording and photography Scope: statewide New York statewide rules require permission before photographing, filming, videotaping, audiotaping, broadcasting, or telecasting in court facilities, including courtrooms. Evidence excerpt: Taking photographs, films or videotapes, or audiotaping, broadcasting or telecasting, in a courthouse including any courtroom, office or hallway thereof, at any time or on any occasion, whether or not the court is in session, is forbidden, unless permission of the Chief Administrator of the Courts or a designee of the Chief Administrator is first obtained [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### evidence presentation control Scope: statewide The official Guide to New York Evidence identifies court control over presentation of evidence as a statewide evidence topic; counsel should expect the assigned judge to control the mode and order of proof. Evidence excerpt: 1.07. COURT CONTROL OVER PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE [Guide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role](https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/evidence/1-GENERAL/1-generalprovisions.shtml) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15026/eileen-a-rakower/) - [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15026/eileen-a-rakower/) - [Civil Court of the City of New York current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15026/eileen-a-rakower/) - [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true) - [Guide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role](https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/evidence/1-GENERAL/1-generalprovisions.shtml) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15026/eileen-a-rakower/) - [Eileen Rakower - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Eileen_Rakower) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eileen-a-rakower-15026", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eileen-a-rakower-15026", "name": "Eileen A. 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[Official source](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true). Collected 2026-07-26. - [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-34fe480ab82f22fa3c31d257) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true). Collected 2026-07-26.