Hon. Donald F. Gaffney
Judge
Superior Court
Orange County


Rate a judge
Attorney Average Rating:   3.3 - 11 rating(s)
Non-Attorney Average Rating:   1.0 - 29 rating(s)


General Rating Criteria

* Temp. Temperament (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Sch. Scholarship (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Indu. Industriousness (1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
* Comp. Ability to Handle Complex Litigation (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Punct. Punctuality (1=Chronically Late,10=Always on Time)
* Ab-Pr. General Ability to Handle Pre-Trial Matters (1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
* Ab-Tr. General Ability as a Trial Judge (1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
Flex Flexibility In Scheduling (1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)
    

Criminal Case Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Ev-Cr. Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation (1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Bail General Inclination Regarding Bail (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Plea Involvement in Plea Discussions (1=Not at all Involved, 10=Very Involved)
Inc.-Pr. General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pretrial Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
Inc.-Tr. General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
Inc.-S. General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)


Civil Case Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Ev-Cv. Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation (1=Not at all Evenhanded,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Settle Involvement in Settlement Discussions (1=Not at all Involved,10=Very Involved)
Inc. General Inclination (1=Pro-defendant, 10=Pro-plaintiff)
    
  

General Rating Criteria

Criminal Case Rating Criteria
(if applicable)

Civil Case Rating Criteria
(if applicable)

EvaluatorIDDate*Temp.*Sch.*Indu.*Comp.*Punct.*Ab-Pr.*Ab-Tr.Flex
Civil Litigation - Private12379111/23/202311111111
Civil Litigation - Private11705803/29/2023101010101010108
Civil Litigation - Private9505105/03/202111113111
Criminal Defense Lawyer9306503/01/20211  1    
Criminal Defense Lawyer9171901/13/2021        
Criminal Defense Lawyer8960509/30/202011111111
Criminal Defense Lawyer8955609/28/202011111111
Prosecutor8787207/11/202011111111
Criminal Defense Lawyer8762206/30/2020        
Criminal Defense Lawyer7433408/14/201997  87 8
Criminal Defense Lawyer6103210/28/2018        
Criminal Defense Lawyer6067810/18/2018 1010 101010 
Criminal Defense Lawyer4719301/13/201711111111
Criminal Defense Lawyer2956809/19/201411111211
Category Average  2.73.43.02.03.73.53.02.6
   
ID*Ev-Cr.BailPleaInc.-Pr.Inc.-Tr.Inc.-S.
123791111111
117058      
950511     
93065      
91719      
89605111111
89556111111
87872111111
87622      
74334      
61032      
6067810 8555
47193111111
295681105111
 2.12.52.61.61.61.6
ID*Ev-Cv.SettleInc.Average
1237911111.0
11705810 510.0
950511111.2
93065   1.0
91719   0.0
896051111.0
895561111.0
878721111.0
87622  10.0
74334 887.8
61032   0.0
60678   10.0
471931111.0
2956811101.1
 2.11.93.02.6

Only items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating.

Non-attorney Rating
(if applicable)

EvaluatorIDDateJudgeIDOvr.AverageReadComment
Litigant11855605/28/202315199  Read Comment
Other11376112/17/20221519911.0Read Comment
Other10495505/19/20221519911.0Read Comment
Other9624006/21/20211519911.0Read Comment
Other9337403/09/202115199  Read Comment
Other9305203/01/202115199  Read Comment
Court Staff9264602/17/202115199  Read Comment
Court Staff9262902/17/202115199  Read Comment
Litigant9262302/16/202115199  Read Comment
Other9222501/31/202115199  Read Comment
Other9016210/26/20201519911.0Read Comment
Litigant8968610/03/202015199  Read Comment
Litigant8955909/28/20201519911.0Read Comment
Litigant8953709/27/202015199  Read Comment
Litigant8953509/27/202015199  Read Comment
Other8911609/08/20201519911.0Read Comment
Litigant8775107/05/202015199  Read Comment
Other8774107/05/20201519911.0Read Comment
Other8774007/05/20201519911.0 
Other8734106/21/20201519911.0Read Comment
Other8718206/13/20201519911.0Read Comment
Court Staff8660005/30/20201519911.0Read Comment
Other8647205/27/20201519911.0Read Comment
Litigant8495304/18/20201519911.0Read Comment
Litigant8386803/02/202015199  Read Comment
Litigant8377402/29/20201519911.0Read Comment
Litigant8296602/08/20201519911.0Read Comment
Litigant7936311/22/20191519911.0Read Comment
Other7770210/16/201915199  Read Comment
Litigant7584109/09/201915199  Read Comment
Other7222807/09/20191519911.0Read Comment
Other7194307/04/20191519911.0Read Comment
Litigant7033906/14/201915199  Read Comment
Other6928105/20/201915199  Read Comment
Court Staff6902705/13/20191519911.0Read Comment
Other6712103/22/201915199  Read Comment
Other6289112/20/201815199  Read Comment
Other6138511/07/20181519911.0Read Comment
Other6127511/05/201815199  Read Comment
Litigant6082810/23/20181519911.0Read Comment
Litigant5593205/12/20181519911.0Read Comment
Other5474103/17/20181519911.0Read Comment
Other5237510/27/20171519911.0Read Comment
Litigant5154409/13/20171519911.0Read Comment
Other4950405/16/20171519977.0Read Comment
Other4887804/14/20171519911.0Read Comment
Other4450907/28/2016151991010.0Read Comment
Other4390906/24/20161519911.0Read Comment
Category Average   1.51.5