"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. Douglas W. Stern	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
Los Angeles County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 2.7 - 8 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 7 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. Douglas W. Stern

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA53475
Rating:1.0

Comments:
If you are a female attorney, you definitely want to 170.6 him. I’m sure the one positive comment on here is from a white male. Definitely has the good old boy mentality. I agree with the volumes of comments here about not following the law. Very disappointing.

Litigant

Comment #: CA44618
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Stern is either uninformed about the law or he just doesn't care about it. He does not properly evaluate the facts of a case and he is not a reasonable fact finder. Avoid

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA34444
Rating:1.0

Comments:
He is absolutely extremely impatient. He doesn't care any law. Every time when I present civil code and law case. He just completely ignored and said no one cares. He is races. He didn't give me time to present because I'm Asian. STOP ASIAN HATE! He favored landlord because they r white. Welcome to America. This is US justice.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA33728
Rating:4.0

Comments:
Judge stern heard my case against property management DUO management. I had pictures clearly showing my apt when I left it ,a year being there. No major damage and very clean. Property managers showed up with some pics of scratches my cat had made , a shady list of charges itemized by a guy who didn’t speak English and $500 theft of my deposit. This judge actually let them charge for grout that was dirty!!!! I’m convinced this Judge was a property owner. He had to be. I’d request another judge if your shady property managers try to steal your deposit.
Remember DUO PROPERTYMGMT AND DO NOT RENT FROM THEM OR GET THIS JUDGE. He will screw you and side with landlord.

Other

Comment #: CA33509
Rating:2.0

Comments:
Judge Stern is extremely impatient and shallow in his analysis of cases. He only gives enough thought to attend to your stereotypical small claims "drama" case -- in which case, he seems pretty fair. But for claims that are small in amount, but more legally-grounded or nuanced such that they require proper legal knowledge or research to base a decision on, he seems to be inattentive or even inclined to brush off the claim.

The two small claims I have brought before him had clear legal bases in my favor. But Mr. Stern in both cases lacked either the willingness or capacity to analyze and apply the actual law.

One claim pertained to a contract wherein the contractor’s end of the deal was to provide technological services. The services they rendered had frequent malfunctions that impacted my operations, so I sought to hold them liable for financial losses. Their defense relied on a term in the contract that states they cannot be held liable for technological failures -- which I understood to refer to technological issues out of their control. I expect any lawyer or judge to know that a hirer cannot legally agree to render services and simultaneously assert that they cannot be held liable for a failure to do so! My expectations were too high for Mr. Stern!

The other case pertained to damage caused by government failure to maintain its infrastructure. The government agency relied on an argument of having no constructive knowledge of the disrepair. But because this was related to failed maintenance rather than incidental disrepair, constructive knowledge is not relevant; what was relevant was their failure to fulfill their affirmative maintenance obligations that ultimately led to my experiencing damages. Such was clear from evidence provided by both sides, but Mr. Stern stayed fixated on constructive knowledge –- despite referencing code in his order that alludes to affirmative maintenance obligations!

He is either judicially incompetent or lazy! He needs to retire.

Litigant

Comment #: CA22465
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I had taken my appellate attorney to small claims in front of douglas stern. i gave my attorney's paralegal $10,000.00 cash to handle an appeal, on that day i only signed a paper stating i gave the paralegal cash, after 11 months of never seeing or talking to my attorney, we finally met had our meeting i called the court the following monday only to find out my attorney relieved himself as my counsel, he didn't return my money and i had 11 days before my brief was due. i subpoenaed my attorney twice to small claims because i wanted my money back. no show either time, the paralegal showed and handed me hourly billing statements (we never agreed on), fee arbitration (i never received), and a personal services agreement (someone forged my initials and my signature spelling my last name wrong) i've NEVER seen these papers, and he was countersuing me for $4,600.00! i explained to judge stern i've never seen these papers and someone forged my signature and i was left to do the brief on my own, he said we would get his ruling in the mail, i was devastated when i received the ruling 3 days later, the judge ruled in my attorney's favor! i could not believe what i was reading! this judge needs to be barred from being a judge, he is so, so, so unfair!

Litigant

Comment #: CA20203
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Very Rude, ignores evidence and allowed unscrupulous attorneys to drag a 30 day ud case on for two years while collecting insurance proceeds.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA19221
Rating:1.0

Comments:
A shocking display of a very rude, short tempered bias Judge willing to sacrifice due process at the expense of people powerless to defend themselves in his court room. When we left his courtroom we could hear him poking fun and laughing sarcastically with his staff over some of the deeply personal testimony including income disclosed during the case. It was so inappropriate and unprofessional of a Judge. We saw him bully and intimidate foreign and older people. It was painful. They need a fair Judge the most. He shortcut due process saying he was doing it to get cases off his calendar. So wrong. Yet he constantly ran hours late. He exerted his power over individuals favoring larger companies just to speed up his votes and his calendar.
"Power corrupts". This Judge displayed a frightening intimidation, intoxicated with the power. This shouldn't be allowed.
The reviewers are right. This Judge isn't fair or impartial. He may have been a long time ago. But not anymore. He is very personal, bias and short tempered. Its made him abuse the law Another attorney said he is working to be on the "fast track" for a promotion favoring big plaintiffs over individuals. Explains the power hunger. He has lost sight over the repercussions when he makes a bad judgement and doesn't stick to ruling by the evidence. His bad temper and sarcasm is terrible. That's no way to run a courtroom fairly and impartially. His bias, harsh actions have resounding negative effects to people who cannot defend themselves without him respecting his role better. What happened to looking after those individuals who do not have unlimited resources in Court Judge? He has all the power - and he is happy to exert it against you. He could help us all, but he chooses not too while he seeks more power. He should not be in this position anymore.

Litigant

Comment #: CA14929
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Stern or Judge Dredd
I'm the law!!!!

Ignores evidence, uses biased personal feelings to make unprecedented decisions.

No wonder he's in small claims...

Other

Comment #: CA14810
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Completely bypassed the fact that my ex landlord took 41 days (instead of the legal 21 days given by the state) to send an itemized list for the withdrawls of my deposit and ruled that she did not owe us any money. It's also interesting that he let the defendant speak first instead of the plaintiffs like he did for every other case before us.

Litigant

Comment #: CA14272
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
I will make an opinion after trial and how long it takes to finish the case.

Litigant

Comment #: CA13387
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Very poor. By helping someone no one else would rent to, I ended up in his court as a plaintiff in an unlawful detainer case. It has been three days since the defendant was ordered to vacate the premises under his order, but my attorney still hasn't been able to get a signed writ for the Sheriff to post the eviction. The trial date was more than three weeks ago. This tenant has managed to go almost 6 months without paying rent or reimbursing me for extensive damages to the premises. I am a widow not a professional landlord and only rent out a small efficiency unit attached to my primary residence.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA13183
Rating:1.5

Comments:
Extremely rude. Seems to decide cases based on who he likes more and not the law. Short-tempered.

Other

Comment #: CA13094
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I would rate this Judge performance as racist, lazy, negligent, failing to consider pictures of evidence and ruling in favor of some one because they are not the "other". This judge is racist and should be disbarred. I would not trust this judges judgement. He is NOT a fair judge and should not be in the position of Judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA9522
Rating:9.4

Comments:
I've appeared before Judge Stern a number of times. I've found him to be extremely fair and of high judicial temperament. I would have no reservation with Judge Stern presiding over a matter in which I was involved with.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA7229
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge violated my right to privacy by releasing identifiable health information to the public through a minute order, and during a trial thus, violating the Privacy Act of 1974. He, the courts and their agents and employees had no written permission to release that information.