"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. David M. Hirsch	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
Ventura County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 5.5 - 5 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 2 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. David M. Hirsch

Comments

Court Staff

Comment #: CA48821
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
RE: CA48820

"You have to be prepared for his pace. He doesn't tolerate the unprepared or incompetent."

This is not the demeanor of a "good judge," quite the opposite. A good judge would be willing to see the truth in a case, not get embroiled over the inevitable mistakes and inefficiencies of the system. This attitude only ensures that the "good old boys" who "know the rules" have any chance to win cases. That is not justice.

But what does justice mean to judges these days?

170.6

Very Truly,

Ventura County's Radiant Truth

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA48820
Rating:10.0

Comments:
One of my favorite judges. Fair and smart, but moves fast. You have to be prepared for his pace. He doesn't tolerate the unprepared or incompetent. Slight lean to the defense side of things (wish it were even more since he was a PD and our entire bench seems to be in love with the DA's office).
He is a very good judge.

Court Staff

Comment #: CA48559
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Dear Public,

We have recently received information indicating a pattern of wrongful decisions by judge David Hirsch retaliating against criminal defendants who maintain their innocence in court and refuse plea deals. He threatened a female defendant with contempt of court after she expressed defiance toward what she described as an attempt by the district attorney’s office to openly lie, accusing her of making admissions that she didn’t make, in an attempt to coerce her into accepting a plea deal for a crime she didn’t commit. Judge Hirsch wrongfully increased her bail to $500,000 with an additional contempt charge and remitted her into custody after she refused to change her “attitude.”

The defendant is a member of a minority protected class and low income. This wrongful decision cost the family $50,000 in bail bond fees. The family believes that this decision by judge Hirsch was intended to be punitive for the defendant’s refusal to accept the plea deal and for her maintaining innocence.

Embroilment and bias in favor of prosecutors is serious misconduct. We urge defendants to file a 170.6 petition against this judge as soon as possible—it must be done first before this judge can even make a minor ruling in your case.

If you have information on judge Hirsch, we want to hear from you. Email us at RadiantTruth@pm.me.

Very Truly,

Ventura County’s Radiant Truth

Other

Comment #: CA47001
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge is the worst in the county of Ventura and the state of Ca, he refuses to see, or read any of the facts of a case and is a terrible person he should be FIRED!!!

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA41790
Rating:5.5

Comments:
He is overly tough on criminal defendants, but he is in no way biased against minorities, as some here believe.

Litigant

Comment #: CA38466
Rating:1.0

Comments:
The comment below is right about this Judge. He is definitely biased. I am a minority and instead of looking at the facts that no evidence was presented he just assumed I was guilty. He specifically told me if I was not going to behave I would be put in their as he pointed to the inmates. Definitely cold hearted.

Court Staff

Comment #: CA34815
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Dear Private,

Your account of Judge Hirsch’s treatment of minority and low income defendants is disturbing. Thank you for bringing this to light so that future litigants and attorneys can avoid the blatant discrimination you describe.

If you have any information on Judge Hirsch that you would like to share anonymously, I can be reached at RadiantTruth@pm.me.

Very Truly,

Ventura County’s Radiant Truth

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA34814
Rating:4.0

Comments:
Posters below: Yes, you are right. Sadly, it's because he is afraid of losing the next election, at least that's why he think he does that. He thinks he needs to be “tough on crime” and he has lost his ability, or care, to understand that these are real people and each case is different.....he had that quality before, when he was a PD :( Not every defendant deserves to be hammered and most of our felony DAs recognize that. However, the judge needs to approve of any settlement and this judge ignores the DA's input and just hammers every defendant. Many - most I represent, are lower middle class who do not qualify for the public defender but cannot afford private trial counsel. He is the only judge on the bench who basically forces these people to accept an unjust sentence, harsher than what the DA asks for....because he can.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA15080
Rating:2.0

Comments:
Judge Hirsch demonstrates clear bias. He dishes out sentences that are unconscionable based on the charge. He over-rides reasonable offers made by the DA and accepted by the defense. He insists on unconscionable sentences because he is based. He is ill equipped to handle the power of a judge and should do something else.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA14429
Rating:6.2

Comments:
Very involved in the plea bargain process. Unnecessarily so. Has no problem blowing up a proposed disposition that was agreed upon by professionals most knowlegable about the salient facts in the case. But can be open minded and persuaded to change his mind.