"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. William D. Claster	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
Orange County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 8.1 - 11 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 10.0 - 1 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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Only items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating.

General Rating Criteria

* Temperament		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Scholarship		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Industriousness		(1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
* Ability to Handle Complex Litigation		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Punctuality		(1=Chronically Late,10=Always on Time)
* General Ability to Handle Pre-Trial Matters		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
* General Ability as a Trial Judge		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
Flexibility In Scheduling		(1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)

Criminal Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation		(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
General Inclination Regarding Bail		(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Plea Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved, 10=Very Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pretrial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)

Civil Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation		(1=Not at all Evenhanded,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Involvement in Settlement Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved,10=Very Involved)
General Inclination		(1=Pro-defendant, 10=Pro-plaintiff)

Comments

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What others have said about Hon. William D. Claster

Comments

Other

Comment #: CA50228
Rating:10.0

Comments:
A trial which ended today, with Judge Claster presiding, was my first time serving as a juror. It was difficult and long (6 weeks), but Judge Claster managed to keep the trial moving by managing lawyers and time very well. His calm demeanor and clear instructions helped throughout the trial’s duration. A good experience for a first-time juror.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA45010
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I had a high-stakes, highly complex case before him for over three years. It was fought hammer and tongs by my boutique trial firm against one of the best BigLaw firms in LA and settled on the eve of trial. I think the attorneys on both sides would agree that Judge Claster is an exceptional jurist who works very hard, is extremely bright, has perfect temperament for the bench, will know your case backwards and forwards, and comes to the matter without preconceived biases. What a gem! We need to clone him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA38736
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I've appeared in front of Judge Claster as defense counsel several times and have never detected any bias. He's extremely bright, respectful, and thorough. It's only a matter of time before he ends up working across the street at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA36580
Rating:9.6

Comments:
Outstanding judge. Reads, researches, understands everything. Burns the midnight oil as if he were still a Gibson Dunn partner. I’ve had both plaintiff and defense cases in his court and can’t detect a bias either way. He seems genuinely determined to get things right and will reconsider a tentative if persuaded. Judge Claster does his own research and writes his own minute orders rather than leaving them to a research attorney. Excellent temperament — calm and reasonable but controls his courtroom. There’s a reason he’s assigned to the Complex Court — he’s head and shoulders above most of his peers. But come prepared and submit high quality briefings. Pretend you’re in federal court and you’ll be fine.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA15046
Rating:8.6

Comments:
Recently tried a case in front of Judge Claster. Probably the most impersonal judge I have ever dealt with. Sometimes lacks patience with attorneys for meaningless reasons. But his rulings were well thought out and I found him to be fair. I would have no problem trying another case in front of him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA11115
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
An incredibly smart judge. Fair, no non-sense, and highly capable. He does not boast about himself, and is a very seasoned trial attorney to boot. Appeared before him in Complex Court, and found him to be the smartest judge ever.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA8438
Rating:9.5

Comments:
On two cases, Judge Claster was even tempered, clear, thoughtful, and knowledgeable on the case and law. On one case, he favored a pro-per and accepted incredible excuses to repeated infractions, reversing himself and providing relief when not warranted. He appears able, but slightly slanted to plaintiffs.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA7079
Rating:7.4

Comments:
Appeared before him on several occasions. Appears to be very knowledgeable about the facts of the underlying case and the matter before him at that point. Listens to the parties before making a decision.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA5857
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Very thorough judge -- bright and competent. Reads everything and knows both the case facts and the law when he takes the bench on a motion.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA5785
Rating:2.3

Comments:
I have found this judge to be simply either lazy nor does he care about rights of the defendants. He is very pro plaintiff allows counsel to lie and overlooks it right in his court room. Finally pretends to be miffed when an attorney screws up but readily forgets the next time and will gladly shift the robing responsibility to anyone that will take it on. Tis guy is a joke for a judge.

Litigant

Comment #: CA5735
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Well you would think when he takes the bench he is generally accepted by parties but the reality is this judge is easily swayed and has no real background at "Black Letter Law" Moreover he refuses to look any law up on the bench, pretending to be well versed when he is not. Finally makes remarks like: "I have a bad taste in my mouth for this civil litigant" if that's the way he feels then he should recuse himself but he has not done so. A clear violator of nothing more than being full of himself as a judge what the hell was Arnold thinking when he appointed this hack to the bench

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA5734
Rating:2.6

Comments:
This judge should have stayed in private practice. He has little or no extended knowledge of issues at law. Best left to family law if that's where he came from

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA5263
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Excellent judge. Listens to every side and comes to hearings extremely knowledgeable on the facts and the law that will be argued in each case. Obviously one of the brightest judges on the OCSC.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA5181
Rating:9.8

Comments:
Bright, diligent, patient, listens, and highly competent.