"The Robing Room: FL State Judges

Hon. Sally D. M. Kest	See Rating Details
Circuit Court
Orange County 9th Circuit	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 2.5 - 10 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 14 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. Sally D. M. Kest

Comments

Other

Comment #: FL7993
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge refused to listen to the Adlitem and my attorney, it nearly cost my daughter her life. Had it, I would have blamed this judge. It was obvious she didn’t even review our case or maybe she’d have actually cared about what my child was going through. Emotional abuse is just as bad if not more than physical abuse! Thankgod she’s over 18 now and lots of therapy. I finally started sleeping again when she turned 18, I spent many nights worried sick!

Litigant

Comment #: FL7767
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Tends to favor females and takes it person when a male has an opinion . Ignores facts and makes decisions based on her feelings even when the facts show something else.

Litigant

Comment #: FL7766
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Kest Is completely racist, and her willingness to violate the constitution should have been the end of her reign.
Best is with out a doubt the systematic oppression that plagues the United States . change needs to start with her and her husband who is also a judge destroying lives and the daughter of a judge from a time the reflects her views on people of color.

Other

Comment #: FL6562
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
This judge is totally racist, rude, biased, uncaring for the situation of minors presented before her. I watch in dismay many times in her courtroom as she belittles people, is very condescending and intimidating to children and their parents. She is unreasonable, moody and temperamental like nothing I ever seen. She should not be allowed to be serving at the bench.

Other

Comment #: FL5423
Rating:2.0

Comments:
Sitting in her courtroom I observed five cases in which she was extremely condescending to the juvenile defendants, their family members, witnesses, and defending attorneys (especially public defenders). I was shocked to hear her refer to African American witnesses as “those people” and verbally abuse a young man who asked for clarification on the penalty she levied on him. The teen appeared in court with a public defender and no parent. She was rude. Her haughty demeanor is inappropriate for bench.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: FL4924
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
she was a good lawyer but a disappointment as a judge too bad

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: FL4736
Rating:1.0

Comments:
she cannot do the job. has a short temper

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: FL4636
Rating:1.0

Comments:
always looks for something wrong cannot get right lousy judge

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: FL4260
Rating:1.0

Comments:
a disappointment on the bench makes it hard to do a uncontested divorce wastes lawyers time

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: FL4173
Rating:1.0

Comments:
NASTY DISPOSITION CAN BE VERY RUDE WASTES A LOT OF TIME CAN YOU IMAGINE HER IN PRIVATE PRACTICE

Other

Comment #: FL3943
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Totally bias against men. Does not give them the chance to even speak, even if it means causing harm to the children in volved. Acts as if only men cause harm and does not look at the fact the woman can be just as agressive and harmful. Hope for the childs case the mother does not harm them due to this judges poor and bias opinion. Judges are suppose to be fair and not take sides this judge only has one side. Pray and hope you never get her.

Litigant

Comment #: FL3835
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Completely disreguard the law.
Ignored the obvious statutes and caselaw.
Tricky because he acted like he was going to rule fairly and then out of nowhere he forgot he "had a pair" and ruled in favor of thebwoman the had just (self admittedly) lied for three days on just about everything.
Wow! Horrible person and judge!

Litigant

Comment #: FL3834
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Wow! Completely bias against men.
Completely ignores statutes unless they serve her purpose to screw men.
Broke the law on several occasions.
Should be disbarred!
Dishonest!
If you get her assigned to yr case yr screwed if yr male.

Other

Comment #: FL3746
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Kest is rude and comes off as unprofessional. She seems to be very biased, making rulings that benefit the father rather than taking into consideration the best interest of the child. She even went as far as to say that the child's opinion and feelings do not matter. She has sided with the father every time we come before her in her courtroom, even when he has nothing to back up his accusations. She was against all suggestions and requests to use mediation to avoid having to come before her in the future. When making her rulings, she only looked at me (the mother) as though I was the only person in the room. I had to ask if she was making rulings for an agreement that both parents need to follow or if she was only talking to me. Someone needs to remove her from the bench, she is playing with people's lives and does not take her job seriously or fairly.

Other

Comment #: FL3729
Rating:2.0

Comments:
In my case, she showed bias against men by ruling in favor of my ex wife on every single issue. There was no exception-money, property, child support and documentation to support the decisions.

Litigant

Comment #: FL3535
Rating:3.0

Comments:
I find this judge does not rule for the best interest of the child and the reason is when facts are submitted for review the final ruling should be based on the facts and not her personal recommendation.

Litigant

Comment #: FL3414
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This Judge is extremely rude and bias, When attempting to provide a different opinion in a 4 1/2 year old support modification case, I was told to be quite or I would be held in contempt of court. I was not allowed to present evidence in the case and when informed that my license has been suspended multiple time against court orders, the response was "What do you want me to do about it"

Other

Comment #: FL3348
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge is very unfair, and biased towards men.

Other

Comment #: FL2855
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Extremely one-sided. As we were from out-of-state and appearing by phone, she refused to consider our point of view, even refusing to consider documents we filled for the hearing. Told us that if we wanted documents considered, we would have to set another hearing add travel from Pennsylvania to Floride to present the documents in person. This was a child support case, and she sided with the non-custodial father who was a resident of Fl at every opportunity. She failed to display even a pretext of equitability.

Other

Comment #: FL2380
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Openly one sided. One side she was respectful, listened, and followed every wish. The other side, she was rude, wouldn’t even let them finish a sentence, and would not accept any evidence to go against what she the other side was saying. This woman needs to be taken off the bench before she ruins more people’s lives.

Other

Comment #: FL1993
Rating:2.0

Comments:
What is wrong with this woman? She has no idea what shes doing. She needs to be taken out immediately. Her ignorance and horrible judgement is ruining peoples lives. God bless anyone who goes before her.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: FL1609
Rating:8.3

Comments:
Very knowledgeable about Family Law matters.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: FL919
Rating:4.0

Comments:
She does not seem to be informed of the law and, if she is, seems to not care what it says. Makes rulings with no legal basis or authority. Seems to be following the path other judges have paved without thinking on her own. Loves the power.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: FL895
Rating:2.0

Comments:
It is hard to tell if this judge is totally ignorant or just bad-hearted. She has no concept of the operation of a criminal courtoom and is a poor example of a jurist. She seems to be taking her cue from some of the old-time Kissimmee judges, who are pro-state with poor temperament. If she continues to follow in the footsteps of Waller and Draper she will not be awarded a second term.