"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. Joni T. Hiramoto	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
Contra Costa County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 5.0 - 5 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 11 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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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. Joni T. Hiramoto

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA39231
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Premature adjudication sums Judge Joni Hiramoto well! How is it even POSSIBLE that Joni Hiramoto was appointed to the family law court in Contra Costa County? She herself was a litigant in a protracted family law case in Contra Costa County (Case No. MSD04-04880) at the same time she was ruling in other family law cases. 'Conflicted' doesn't even begin to describe her. Again and again, Joni Hiramoto betrayed an astonishing bias against, and was openly hostile toward, men/fathers in her courtroom. She ignored her duty by failing to sanction parents who violated custody and visitation orders and failed to sanction litigants who repeatedly and wantonly flouted local rules and procedures, thereby depriving other parties of due process. Joni Hiramoto is rude, frequently interrupts others during hearings and is incredibly arrogant. Her logic insults reason. Her rulings were frequently arbitrary and lacked foundation in both law and evidence. She brazenly ignored previous court orders while sitting as a family law judge. Those she appointed as outside counsel lack diligence, skill and commitment and are better suited as poorly-paid social workers than lawyers and officers of the court. How such a conflicted person EVER got appointed to the family law courts beggers belief and boggles the mind. A litigant in a protracted family law case, she had absolutely no business at all hearing family law cases in Contra Costa County. She is the poster girl for a failing ideology that is destroying California one family, one child at a time. Finally, her personal appearance during court hearings is entirely inappropriate, strangely 'gothic' and can best be described as a feeble attempt at mutton disguised as lamb.

Other

Comment #: CA38955
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Hirohito is the worst Judge ever. Closed minded person that makes up her mind before she gets to the court room. Watch out for having conflicts of interest, this is often and she won't let you know. Also hates trans people I had a transaction and she held it against me in her ruling!!!

Litigant

Comment #: CA38719
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I've spent 9 years in family court and been in front of 6 judges over the years. Judge Hiramoto is the gold standard. She actually read the file (and it's long). She told the attorneys that she would not tolerate bad behavior and only wanted to hear legal arguments. She followed the law, kept order in the court room, allowed the litigants themselves to speak when the time was appropriate, and had the foresight to be very deliberate in the wording of her orders. She knew the the opposition was adept at finding loopholes in court orders. She was careful to try to close up any areas in the order where there might be room for future disagreements. Outstanding. She took her time to think and asked clarifying questions before writing orders. She knew not to let the attorneys leave the room without a FOAH in hand (my ex used to play hide the ball with the orders to drag out the time I could not see my children from previous orders). She's sharp, experienced, balanced, fair, and showed no signs of gender, racial or age bias. Even though I wasn't granted everything I wanted, she is the most reasonable judge I've encountered so far. When she comes up for re-election, I would volunteer in her campaign.

Other

Comment #: CA38419
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This judge is terrible and needs to be fired she takes people from their children especially fathers she is sick, twisted and demonic literally! She makes her own rulings without looking at the facts of the case she is unprofessional. She will tell you shut up in the middle of giving your statement , she really needs to be disbarred

Litigant

Comment #: CA35866
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Joni Hiramoto made me lose legal custody of my two young daughters within a 10-minute hearing, right after I applied for divorce. I requested her to state the basis for her decision and she said that it was all in the transcript. When the transcript was obtained, there was nothing about her decision there. She refused to explain orally the basis for her decision, too I had a custody hearing with Hiramoto the next day after I had my Domestic Violence restraining order verdict (against my spouse). Hiramoto said that she didn't have time to look at what DV allegations were and as my request for restraining order was denied, she'll now proceed and make a decision now and maybe will redecide later. She said that she is not attempting to punish me as a mother, she simply doesn't have time to make a decision. Yet, she revoked my legal custody without providing any reason for it (after me having it for 15 years!!!) and only granted me very short visitation, despite no wrongdoing on my part... she also refused to let a witness speak... During the second hearing, Hiramoto simply terminated the hearing mid-sentence, while my then-attorney was speaking! She allowed the opposing party's lawyer to be 3 hours late... and we kept waiting (and every hour would add to the billing hours from my attorney!). After 3 hours the opposing party attorney appeared... then Hiramoto allowed him to speak and made a decision. When my attorney started speaking, Judge Hiramoto lost her patience and simply terminated the Zoom meeting, without allowing us to speak. Terrible, opinionated judge who doesn't research the facts and who is not balanced in her decision.

Litigant

Comment #: CA34940
Rating:1.0

Comments:
First of all Joni Hiramoto has no business being on the bench and hearing family law matters. She ignores the law, court rules, and hides behind her immunity to do as she pleases. Joni will blast litigants in open court. I witnessed her lock a mother in her court room with a yellow post it note stating “court room closed”. Behind this locked courtroom, she went onto sever this mother’s parental rights without cause, on a status report that was 75% incomplete that she had her self ordered to be completed! This judge makes orders that she herself will not even enforce. Joni has no regard to see that honesty and justice prevail in her court room, she is a complete disgrace to the bench. Joni has zero regard for the destruction she perpetrates upon children and causes lifelong trauma these children will suffer for many years to come. Thank god she has been demoted to the “misdemeanor department” and no longer destroying the lives of innocent families. Her cash for kids mentality is criminal. She needs to not only be disbarred and removed from the bench, but should be completely stripped of her pension.

Litigant

Comment #: CA34530
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Hiramoto is probably the worst Judge in Contra Costa. The day the news spread of her departure, was the best day! This lady has no desire to keep families together. The child's best interest to her is killing their spirits and souls. If you're in her courtroom ever, recuse recuse recuse!!

Other

Comment #: CA33225
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Does not read any of the paper work provided or any of the documents I had spend thousand for my lawyers to help me write. Saw her twice and each time she was repetitive and said things so off the wall that it was so obvious she didn’t read the paperwork. She definitely has it out for dads who just want a chance to be in their children’s life. She will ask a question and once you respond she will yell for interrupting. So best to just sit quiet before she allow you to speak.

Litigant

Comment #: CA33089
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Completely bias against me. Especially those who do not have representation. She enforces maintains or enforces unnecessary Domestic Violence restraining orders in bias against men.
She does not read declarations and does not follow the rules and procedures of trial including but not limited to ; proper preparation and discovery timelines, witness preparation , and even accepts verbal motions from attorneys and disregards proper motions from self represented litigants. He bias towards men and her inability to control her own emotions has led to unjust ruling in Family court In numerous proceedings. Thank god she was finally fired...I mean transferred from Family Law. She should be disbarred

Other

Comment #: CA33029
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Joni Hiramoto is one of SEVERAL Contra Costa Family Court judges who is incompetent, emotional, biased, [Redacted by Ed.] and blatantly ignores the facts. This system backs their own lawyers, therapists, mediators, and evaluators and keeps CHILDREN caught in a money-extorting system without one concern for what is actually in the best interest of the child. The [redacted] Contra Costa County Family Law system needs to be brought to light because these people are DESTROYING families with their inconsistent rulings that keep families trapped in the system while they collect a paycheck and ignore the abuse they perpetuate.

Litigant

Comment #: CA32477
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I had my children in a great private school, they were doing well,they have friends, family and a life long rooted community here in the Bay Area. We have a comfy home where everyone has their own bedrooom. We adjusted to life after their mother moved away. I had been my children's primary care giver since birth. I know that I am an amazing and loving father. But I guess that wasn't enough. Thanks to this judge, my children now live in a two-bedroom apartment in the LA area with their mother and her boyfriend. Every professional I consulted , every lawyer, every therapist, every educator said that this was the most insane ruling they have ever heard. I'm not sure if she has her own set if biases against fathers, or if she really is incompetent. All I know is that I have worked so hard for m children, and she took that away on a whim. As far as I am concerned, this judge has no honor.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA31580
Rating:8.4

Comments:
For preliminary hearing and trial: even-handed and smart. Pleasant, respectful.

Litigant

Comment #: CA28138
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Recuse this judge on your first hearing! You have that legal right.
She is on the take and unless your the one paying her off, You lose and you will lose BIG!
She is illegally and systematically removing parents custody of their children based on payoffs. She will be under criminal investigation soon if the court doesn't move her out. I bet they do before she can be charged.. That's what they do or they will retire her like they did Judge Mills.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA21601
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Her dark nails and purple hair is gothic and a disgrace to the bench. She gives great favor to local attorneys. She favors drug addicts and women clientele and she has anger management issues.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA12845
Rating:9.4

Comments:
Bright, intelligent, hard-working. Reads everything and is even-handed. Accepts criticism well. Very much a people person. She cares about justice and this is more than just a job for her. It's a calling.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA4725
Rating:1.1

Comments:
This judge seems to pre-judge cases on the merits. She gives a great deal of deference to local attorneys. Don't take a case here unless you are part of her "clique," as you won't be doing your client any favors.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA3455
Rating:5.0

Comments:
I never thoughtI would prefer Stark to anyone but I am so sick of this woman's temper that I am re-evaluating Stark. This Judge is rude, angry and very self-centered. I no longer care that her sentences are fair. SHe undoes the good she does when she blows her top which all too frequent. Is she bi-polar?

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA2944
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
She has an anger management problem. Nasty temper. Bring your toothbrush if you or your client interrupts her.