NY Civil Litigation -- I'm Pro Se Litigant, Judge Held me in Contempt -- What are my options?

I read somewhere that courtrooms are the nearest thing we have today to feudal baronies. The courtroom is a little world ruled over by the judge. The judge can find you in contempt. You can't find the judge in contempt.

Do NOT write a criticizing letter to the judge. This will do no good, and may make your situation worse.

Get a lawyer. The lawyer will be able to read the judge's decision, review the record, and clarify the points that you are having trouble understanding. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you will need to contact your state or county legal aid.

You are probably not going to be able to prove that the judge is biased, unless he knew you or the other party before the trial began. He probably doesn't like you now, but that is probably due to things you did during the trial, and this does not count as bias.

Karl E. V. Paananen

It is not uncommon for a person who is proceeding in propria persona to ignore court orders that they believe to be wrong. That is not an option. Court orders, right or wrong, are court orders, and the parties and their attorneys are obligated to comply with them. The entire judicial system would collapse if parties only had to comply with court orders that they agreed with. My strong suspicion, then, is that you are in fact in contempt because you knowingly refused to comply with a court order that you believed was wrong. In my long career, I have never seen a party advance their cause by criticizing their judge -- no judge sets out to disregard the law because no judge wants to be reversed on appeal. Judges are human, like the rest of us, and make mistakes, but that is entirely different than "disregarding" the law. It appears to me that you are too emotionally involved in your case and would benefit from retaining an attorney to review the facts, the law and the court orders, and provide you with an objective opinion of the court's conduct. Based on that analysis, you and your attorney may decide how best to proceed.

you have the right to file a motion asking for a change of venue and you will have to be able to show cause. You also have the right to write a letter to the judge asking him to recuse himself and again show enough cause. You also have the right to write to your judicial evaluation commitee explaining the circumstances and they will reveiw the judges actions and handle it accordingly if they see fault or error. You also have the right to appeal.
All can be done on your own as long as you are continuosly respectful and know how to file such things.
I have done all of the above as a pro se litigant and can give you any advice or help I can.