"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. Rupert A Byrdsong	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
Los Angeles County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 2.6 - 19 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 10.0 - 6 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. Rupert A Byrdsong

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA52183
Rating:2.9

Comments:
Judge Byrdsong goes with his gut. He pays no attention to the law. He seems primarily focused on his Court avoiding any work.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA48841
Rating:1.0

Comments:
A definite 170.6. Academically dishonest. Ignores laws that conflict with his side. Will waste your time. Arrogant to boot.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA42939
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I read an article and court papers where he went to a courtroom where his old firm was representing the plaintiff and made it know to that trial judge and jury that he was rooting for his old firm to win. Ethics issues. He routinely does this.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA42744
Rating:1.7

Comments:
Do not under any circumstances, take this judge. He is mentally lazy, not very sharp, has no respect for your time, and does not prepare. He tries to skim motions from the bench because he hasn't read them and to do so, he only reads one side, not the other. Very poor judge who should not be on the bench

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA42670
Rating:1.8

Comments:
In a case involving somewhat complex legal issues, he did little analysis of the law presented and rushed to a summary conclusion.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA39873
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Kangaroo court. Defense oriented. Extremely biased. Favors big firms. 170.6.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA37384
Rating:1.0

Comments:
terrible horrible judge. lazy in not reading the papers and dismissive about oral argument.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA37382
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Completely disrespectful of attorneys' time. Routinely starts the morning calendar late (at least 30-40 minutes) and makes parties appearing on ex parte applications sit through the entire calendar instead of ruling on unopposed applications. Also - REALLY likes to hear himself talk - the time spent on each hearing could be cut by 2/3 if he would cut the extraneous nonsense. Finally - his policies re MSJs are completely unreasonable - only hears them two days a week and will only hear one per day, so if you try to get a hearing date - even if you start well before the deadline - you are out of luck because the next available hearing is 8-9 months away; then he complains if you ask for a trial continuance to accommodate the MSJ hearing date.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA35422
Rating:1.2

Comments:
Been practicing for more than 15 years and I am sorry to say this is the worst, most incapable judge I have ever been before in my career. He clearly lacks sufficient depth of legal knowledge, which is only exacerbated by his laziness and obvious failure to read or understand the papers; he also makes snap decisions without any legal support or basis; and he seems more concerned with impressing the jury with his rubix cubing skills than fairly presiding over the case and allowing the evidence to be presented fairly. At first blush he seems friendly and open-minded, but don't let this fool you; he will torpedo your case if he (rather than the jury) thinks you should lose for whatever reason. This judge has earned a spot on my permanent strike list.

Other

Comment #: CA34891
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Served jury duty in his court a few years ago and was struck by how kind he is to absolutely everyone in his courtroom.
He was knowledgeable about the law and the legal process (my ex is a lawyer and I find the court system quite interesting). This was the first time that I felt more informed and better for having done jury duty. I wish all judges were like him.

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: CA33263
Rating:1.0

Comments:
If not for Ruth Kwan I would say he is the worst judge in LA County. Just horrible. Prejudges the case and then does everything he can to make it turn out as he wishes. Thinks he knows everything, while knowing nothing. Rude and demeaning. A disgrace to the bench. As I note only surpassed by Ruth Kwan in being as bad as it gets.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA33260
Rating:3.4

Comments:
When this judge was first appointed, I was proud as an African American. I've now appeared before him in 3 different matters. He routinely displays a lack of knowledge of the law or facts. Probably because he doesn't read the papers. Probably explains why he doesn't issue tentative rulings. He is on my permanent 170.6 list. The public deserve better.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA33069
Rating:10.0

Comments:
As an attorney, I appreciate that this judge. I've lost motions and won motions before him. At all times I feel like he has been fair, thoroughly read the actual motions, and accurately applied the law.

We need more judges like him on the bench in LA Superior Court. Do yourself a favor and read the two maxims of law posted inside his courtroom, follow them, be prepared, and you cannot go wrong.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA31425
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Horrible. Does not do any work, does not read papers, does not provide any legal analysis or reasoning for his decisions, completely disregards the law. Had a substantive motion in front of him and when I insisted he provide his reasoning he said 'court has a lot of discretion, that's my ruling.'

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA31063
Rating:1.5

Comments:
Would never accept another assignment to this Judge. Doesn't listen to the facts and evidence. Wants to shorcut everything to reach the conclusion he has apparently already decided on from day one. Horrible at settling cases. Does everything he can to prevent you from going to trial.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA28749
Rating:2.3

Comments:
Horrible. NO, BEYOND horrible. Completely prejudges the case and then makes up his own law and rules to fashion the outcome he wants. Condescending and demeaning. Is on my permanent 170.6 list. NO business being on the bench. He is as bad as it gets.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA25799
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Very even keeled and relaxed judge, seems to be interested in settling disputes between parties

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA22156
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Lazy, lazy, lazy. And smirks/laughs at parties. Doesn't read papers. Doesn't care. 170.6.

Litigant

Comment #: CA21951
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Great judge. We went through so many in my case. He treats self-represented litigants like actuals human beings and doesn’t fall for games by opposing counsel. He truly listens and is fair.

Litigant

Comment #: CA20837
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Follows the law and is fair and even handed. Looks to do the right thing by all concerned and interprets laws/rules in a way that will do justice. Requires both sides to follow the rules.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA13905
Rating:3.3

Comments:
Judge Byrdsong wilfully disregards the law. He issues orders by his own feelings, rather than any application of law. He is incompetent.

Other

Comment #: CA13291
Rating:10.0

Comments:
One of the best judges I’ve witnessed. Both fair and passionate about the law, while upholding it.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA12769
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I've been practicing before this court for 15 years. This is the worst judge I've ever appeared before. He is lazy and arrogant and pre-judges the case without following process. His judicial demeanor is appalling - I often saw him laughing at litigants and making fun of them. His courtroom is poorly run and his staff rude (things get lost, they won't answer the phone, etc.). He doesn't pay too much attention to due process or the actual law, as that appears to be inconvenient to him. Will absolutely strike him if I ever draw him again.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA12060
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Judge Byrdsong has a predetermined agenda. If you do not fit into his predetermined ideas on who should prevail (which has nothing to do with the law or facts of the case), you will lose before you start. He will twist facts until they are unrecognizable,or refuse to recognize the facts, in order to "follow the law" as he deems it should be applied. This is the time to use your challenge if you want a chance at having a fair trial.

Other

Comment #: CA11965
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Passionate about the law. Thorough.
Very fair. Gives ample time for argument and willing to let you be heard.
Thought provoking judge. Knows his stuff.
Looking forward to trying more cases with him.

Other

Comment #: CA11036
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Respectful, patient, and thorough. Runs a good courtroom. Kind to his staff. Treats attorneys and reporters well. Pleasure to appear before him.