"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

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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. Jeffrey R. Finigan

Comments

Other

Comment #: CA38305
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Jeffrey Finigan completely failed to use the broad judicial mandate given to him by the law to stop a systemic injustice being inflicted on a largely minority, lower income community by allowing a sexually violent predator to be placed in a community and neighborhood on the same block as two schools and within a mile of several other youth organizations. I listened in on the hearing and he completely used the "law" as an excuse, vs using his role given to him by the Law to stop yet another abuse and injustice on East Palo Alto. This SVP could've been placed in many other situations, not dumped in a community that is lower income and of color. His reasoning and rationale looked more like trying to off load a problem. This was shameful.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA31603
Rating:8.7

Comments:
Although my client lost the case we tried with Judge Finigan, I have to commend him for being a reasonable guy who listened studiously during the entirety of our day-long court trial and resolved the case to everyone's satisfaction (there was no appeal). There was substantial conflict in the evidence, and he clearly stated his views on the record in a decision from the bench. Regardless of my own views, it was totally understandable that he made the findings he did, and my client and I had no complaints. I hope my experience with Judge Finigan is reflective of how he still handles things a couple years later.