"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. Gary Y. Tanaka	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
Los Angeles County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 7.3 - 7 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 2.0 - 5 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. Gary Y. Tanaka

Comments

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA55097
Rating:2.7

Comments:
All of the negative comments that dominate this site's rating of Judge Tanaka unfortunately are true. The rating of a judge is driven by how well he can judge the facts and apply the law to those facts. Gary Tanaka doesn't know how to weigh the facts and conveniently ignores the law when it is going to drive him to a decision he doesn't like. Litigants in his courtroom have seen him do this repeatedly. If somehow you get stuck in Judge Gary Tanaka's Court and you have the law and the facts on your side, none of it is going to really matter.

Other

Comment #: CA52302
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge is a pleasant man, but is not equipped to be a judge. I have watched video evidence of the terrible woman Cindy Dunbar, with whom Tanaka sided. The real victim was the family Dunbar had been harassing and assaulting. Tanaka was reversed on appeal. He should genuflect and apologize to the family he misjudged.

Other

Comment #: CA48793
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Gary Y. Tanaka must be removed from the bench. I watched him in awe if his incompetence. Lawyers up there teaching him basic law! I guess this is what you get from a 4th rate law school graduate who couldn't run his own law firm.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA42661
Rating:3.8

Comments:
Judge Gary Y. Tanaka, sadly, is a poor judge of character. This should not even matter much if he did his job of looking at evidence and apply laws. But he doesn't understand laws or the intent of legislators who enacted them. Or he doesn't care. He is just another social justice warrior who refuses to hold his nose when he doesn't like someone in his courtroom. This is why he has been singled out as losing appeals. I read this on defendant com.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA39379
Rating:4.9

Comments:
He is a nice guy and I'm sure he impresses many people with his demeanor, but he's just not very competent at civil litigation. I'm sure he'll be around in Torrance for a long time, its a very small town courthouse. I'd take him over Deidre Hill for a judge, at loeast Tananka will try to get it right.

Litigant

Comment #: CA38214
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Gary Tanaka, sadly, is ill equipped intellectually to be a judge. He just is dull witted. This causes bad judgment.

I Googled him and found a sophisticated website (Defendant.com) that exposes Tanaka as a bad judge. Tanaka got reversed unanimously by three Appellate justices. Since few have the finances or fortitude to launch and navigate an appeal, imagine how many other cases incompetent Tanaka fouled up.

BTW, I won my case. No sour grapes here. Just beware if you get assigned Gary Tanaka.

Litigant

Comment #: CA37350
Rating:1.0

Comments:
It is a judge's job in a non-jury adjudication to do one thing: allow permissible, relevant evidence into the record and then apply the law to the evidence. If a judge does not do this, he has broken a sacred oath to uphold the law and to justice itself.

Imagine one being assigned Gary Tanaka as her case's judge and this being the same judge overturned unanimously by the California Court if Appeal in 2019 as described in great detail by Defendant.com. You may read there that Tanaka inadvertently. essentially admitted at the conclusion of the trial depicted that he did not know the law.*

One cannot read the errors in judgment by Judge Gary Tanaka and not rate him at the lowest level.

* Tanaka stated, "If this isn't [illegal] harassment, I don't know what is." Indeed. in unanimously overturning Tanaka's illegal judgment, the Court of Appeal exposed Tanaka's ignorance of the law.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA33276
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Judge Tanaka epitomizes "The Honorable". I have had such miserable experiences with so many LASC judicial officers flagrantly violating Due Process that every time I think of my experience with Judge Tanaka as such a bright line contrast (I also like Judge Takasugi). Please understand, I lost in front of Judge Tanaka. I think that Judge Tanaka did not entirely rule correctly. But he is a super awesome great judge. It was clear that he had read the pleadings and had a firm grasp on the facts. He demonstrated some familiarity with the cited legal authorities. He granted the demurrer against me. I wish he was the Presiding Judge and could remake the corrupt LASC in his image. Huzzah, Honorable Tanaka!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA31250
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I was thoroughly impressed by Judge Tanaka. He is respectful, kind, humorous, smart, and fair minded. He took the time to listen to each counsel on all his calendar matters and showed humility throughout his interactions with everyone, which was so very refreshing. I have the highest respect for Judge Tanaka and highly recommend him.

Litigant

Comment #: CA19579
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I was a co-defendant in a matter with a difficult and recalcitrant co-defendant who I expected would cause problems and anguish throughout trial. Judge Gary Y. Tanaka showed something I had rarely experienced in court: humility, kindness, and civility to all parties and he deftly the various issues that emerged during trial.

Judge Tanaka has a relax and warm style; he is very patient ad helpful (as a pro per, I was not fully verse in court procedures and etiquette which many judges hold against a person such as me, but not Judge Tanaka). I found him quite knowledgeable, even-handed, helpful, that he read all the papers submitted (we were assigned to him by Dept. 1 on a limited jurisdiction case), made sound arguments and decisions, and managed to resolve the case efficiently.

Another favorable remark about the Judge Tanaka is his top notch judicial assistance; they put everyone at ease. I found out they have been with the Judge for many years, even though he had several reassignments, and I completely understand why they had stayed with him. I highly recommend hearing a civil case in front of him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA19035
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Great judge. Commits a lot of time to understanding the issues of the case and carefully considers in limine motions. Highly recommend.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA17040
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Just completed litigation in front of Judge Tanaka. Completely even handed, extremely patient and understanding. Very flexible on pre-trial motions. Read all the documents/exhibits presented so he would have a full handle on them. The matter settled and only settled because of his diligent efforts. During trial, the parties attempted settlement and failed. Judge Tanaka offered his services to mediate a settlement and the parties agreed. Judge Tanaka spent hours working with the parties and managed to obtain a reasonable settlement for all concern. I highly recommend him.