Hon. John A. Houston See Rating Details
District Judge See Comments
S.D.Cal.  
Average Rating:7.2 - 10 rating(s)
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Ratings

*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=Chronic`y Late,10=Always on Time)
*Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation:    (1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
*Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation:   (1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Flexibility In Scheduling   (1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)
General Inclination Regarding Bail (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Pre-Trial:   (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Civil Settlement Discussions:   (1=Least Involved,10=Most Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Trial:    (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Sentencing:    (1=Most Lenient,10=Most Harsh)
Typical Discount Off Guidelines for Cooperators:    (1=10%,10=100%)
  Items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating
Comments


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What others have said about Hon. John A. Houston


Comments


Other

Comment #: 33359
Rating:7.0
Comments:
Despite the judge gave me 3 times to amend my complaint, its too bad that I never got to see him, I did my best to give em evidence at least he gave a chance despite his finally decision.

Litigant

Comment #: 32902
Rating:1.0
Comments:
This man - - John a Houston - - is a disgrace to the bench. This sitting judge accepted a shorter version of an evidentiary recording as means of authenticating a longer version which had been compressed and converted to the MPEG2 FORMAT, for which has a date-stamp identifying it had been created two weeks after the charged incident... thus rendering it incompetent and factually impossible of being authentic. Judge John a Houston allowed for respondent to ignore the explicit language contained in the court order mandating Authentication, where she had been directed to sign a declaration attesting to its Authentication. Judge Houston would also ignore instructional error which permitted conviction under a deficient standard of proof, thus qualifying a structural are pursuant to Sullivan verse Louisiana, which warrants structural are review and reversal per se.

Other

Comment #: 32661
Rating:10.0
Comments:
He is a fair Judge who takes personal circumstances in to account. He helps the community by mentoring young men. He is very knowledgeable of the Judicial system.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 19185
Rating:1.2
Comments:
Does not know the FRCP or FRE. Has no business being on the Bench.

Other

Comment #: 9569
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Willing to listen to all parties and attempts to be even handed during sentencing. Will depart from guidelines when presented with strong arguments. At sentencing, appears to weigh the charges while still taking into account a defendants background to make a judgement. Not a precedent setter in terms of sentencing but a person of intelligence with a conscience and a sense of fairness.

Prosecutor

Comment #: 9364
Rating:8.3
Comments:
I would second the opinion of the criminal defense lawyer below. Judge Houston does have a strong sense of justice, and will depart significantly from the sentencing guidelines in certain cases. I don't always agree with his rulings, but I respect them immensely. A trial in his courtroom was a real pleasure -- he has a sense of humor, is friendly, and is respectful to the parties.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 6091
Rating:9.0
Comments:
Excellent judge. Very thoughtful. I had a tiny case in front of him once that probably shouldn't even have been in federal court. It was a time-waster that should have settled but the other side was being stubborn. When it appeared that the case might go to trial, Judge Huston said: "Gentlemen, I look forward to seeing you at trial." He seemed to mean it. I can't imagine him giving the appearance of being angry or unfair. Works very hard, listens to every point, and lets lawyers talk when other judges would cut them off. Great guy.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 5613
Rating:8.3
Comments:
Judge Houston is great. He has a strong sense of justice and wants to the right thing in a given situation. He doesn't always get it right but he does try and it is a pleasure to be in his courtroom. He is a fair sentencing judge and will give a fair trial.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 5207
Rating:9.8
Comments:
I have to say that I liked my experience with Judge Huston. He was very well-prepared, cut right to the main issues and gave each party time to explain their position, but not reiterate their papers. My only criticism is not really even a criticism, but in my case, he had an opportunity -- since it was fully briefed -- to rule in the alternative on a personal jurisdictional issue, instead of limiting his ruling to subject matter jurisdiction. The narrow ruling resulted in the same issue being raised again in the state court, although I completely understand the concept of a ruling on the most narrow ground rather than more expansive, and the idea that if there is no subject matter jurisdiction, a ruling on another ground is moot. A good judge.