"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. Ernest W. Sawtelle	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
Sacramento County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 1.5 - 5 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 5 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

Add your own rating

E-Mail Address ()

* *

Confirm E-mail Address

* * *

Zip

Occupation

Add a comment only

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

Please type what you see below:

Not an even number!

What others have said about Hon. Ernest W. Sawtelle

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA54604
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Worst Judge I have observed during two decades of practicing law. Unfair, covert, and biased are his key attributes. Would not recommend him under any circumstances. If this system had a “zero” rating, I would feel more comfortable rating him as a zero because “1” suggests that Judge Sawtelle has some base level of competence, which is untrue. Run away from this tyrant if you want a fair trial.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA46269
Rating:1.7

Comments:
Another prosecutor in a robe. You can count on him helping the prosecution. Totally bias.

Other

Comment #: CA41387
Rating:1.0

Comments:
A judge who favors the prosecution. A former DA. Too insecure to make any rulings on his own. Looks to prosecutors for reassurance. What a disgrace to the community.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA38940
Rating:1.9

Comments:
Worse judge I have ever tried a case before in my career after 75 plus jury trials. I don't know how he sleeps at night. He has absolutely no regard for justice or fairness. He's worse than a DA in a robe. He shouldn't even be in the criminal justice system. Someone needs to run against him.

Other

Comment #: CA38893
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Sawtelle is clearly impaired, and more likely he is deranged. This would be obvious to any sane person who has sat in his courtroom for more than one hour. How did he even become a judge, and why is he not immediately removed? He needs to be in a hospital, not on the bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA38782
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Horrible judge. If your client is appearing before him, paper him! Pro-prosecution bias is seething from him at every stage because he used to be a Deputy DA. They call him a "hanging judge" for a reason. Zero respect for the Defendant's Constitutional rights.

Other

Comment #: CA38545
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Sawtelle is an absolute moronic f***ing disaster. How in God's name did this cognitively challenged and low IQ person even get into law school, much less become a judge. He sentenced my niece to 60 years to life in prison for giving baths and taking naps with her five children. Parents everywhere, please be very scared of all cognitively-challenged judges, like Sawtelle who are deeply screwed up.

Other

Comment #: CA37298
Rating:1.0

Comments:
He is extremely bias, he already made up his mind before the hearing, So all evidences that was presented by CDCR and attorney are useless. He violated the peoples right.

Litigant

Comment #: CA24730
Rating:1.0

Comments:
In my case he showed anger, homophobia and lack of self control. Shouting at me and adding things not agreed to with probation. He had stacks of letters on my behalf in front of him WITH letters from my children. He stated "If you had children you would understand these peoples pain" I had to plead guilty to what I didn't do to get my life back.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA10074
Rating:1.9

Comments:
Horrible judge. Pro prosecution