--- title: "James M. Burke | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-m-burke-14604" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # James M. Burke New York County Supreme Court · Acting Justice ## Profile - Court: New York County Supreme Court - State: New York - Role: Acting Justice - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-06-30 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Acting Justice, New York Supreme Court, New York County, 2011-present - Judge, Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York, NY, 2013-2022 - Retired judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York in New York County, serving from 2001 until his retirement on December 31, 2022 - Harvey Weinstein Trial (2019–2020): As acting Supreme Court judge, Burke presided over Weinstein’s rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse, and sexual misconduct trial - Judge, Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York, NY, 2003-2012 - Acting Justice: In 2011, Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau named him acting justice for the Criminal Term of the New York County Supreme Court - Judge, Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York, NY, 2001-2002 - Assistant District Attorney, New York County District Attorney's Office, New York, NY, 1989-2002 - Before joining the judiciary, Burke served as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1989 to 2001 ### Education - Georgetown University — J.D. (1989) - Georgetown University — B.A. (1984) ### Additional information - Retirement: Left the bench at the end of his term in 2022 - He retired in 2022 after more than two decades on the bench - He sentenced Weinstein to 23 years in prison. - Judge James M. Burke was a long-serving Manhattan criminal court judge known for high-profile cases, including the Harvey Weinstein trial, and for rulings on protest-related detention. ## 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/14604/james-m-burke/) - [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/14604/james-m-burke/) - [New York Supreme Court, New York County current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/14604/james-m-burke/) - [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/14604/james-m-burke/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-m-burke-14604", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-m-burke-14604", "name": "James M. 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Collected 2026-10-27. - [New York County Supreme Court, Civil Branch — Rules of the Justices](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/ny-shared-set-d3c269bb7fe692b08197) — Civil Branch proceedings in New York County Supreme Court only; not criminal proceedings. Preserve source version and check later judge/part instructions. [Official source](https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/courts/1jd/supctmanh/Uniform_Rules.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-99a7824bb8e009643f842c03) — 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. - [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.