The Robing Room

Hon. James V. Selna	See Rating Details
District Judge	See Comments
C.D.Cal.
Average Rating:6.5 - 21 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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*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=Chronic`y Late,10=Always on Time)
*Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation:	(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
*Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation:	(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Flexibility In Scheduling	(1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)
General Inclination Regarding Bail	(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Pre-Trial:	(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Civil Settlement Discussions:	(1=Least Involved,10=Most Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Trial:	(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases, Sentencing:	(1=Most Lenient,10=Most Harsh)
Typical Discount Off Guidelines for Cooperators:	(1=10%,10=100%)
Items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating

Comments

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What others have said about Hon. James V. Selna

Comments

Litigant

Comment #: 34120
Rating:1.0

Comments:
If there was a negative score I would give it to him. Judge Selna is purely in the pockets of the FTC! We had a rock solid case with all the merits and he only rubber stamps everything the FTC turned in.. even threw out bank records belonging to my corporation that proved all funds went to the proper parties.. he destroyed our lives with his inability to just read the motions and do his job! Costs us millions and allowed the FTC to play dirty, lie and mislead the court. He is as disgraceful as the FTC..

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 34096
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I tried a complex jury trial before him right before Covid. I found him to be a thoughtful, hard-working and scholarly judge who strikes a good balance between letting you try your case and keeping out irrelevant or prejudicial evidence. He's phlegmatic and can be hard to read, so you can't always tell if he's getting your points -- but he is. Judge Selna is a former big firm partner and was a Bush appointee, but that background seems to play no role in his decisions, which are right down the middle and based on the law.
I certainly didn't win every ruling and I'm not sure he liked me, but I would take Judge Selna again in a heartbeat. Bottom line: he tries hard to be fair, and is. You're lucky to draw him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 25218
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Had no interest in applying the law correctly or hearing contrary arguments once his mind was made up. He saw an easy opportunity to lighten his docket and took it. Lazy, intellectually dishonest, and does not follow the law.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 25092
Rating:9.0

Comments:
We were a little surprised that a former biglaw partner and Bush appointee would be so even-handed in our plaintiff-side case. He seemed to simply apply the precedent as written, and is very knowledgeable about how trials are to be conducted.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 20774
Rating:8.7

Comments:
Judge Selna was very fair with my client. He's certainly not pro-defense, but I didn't find him to be pro-government either. He was... well, judicious. Go figure! He actually read and considered my sentencing memorandum, the sentence was quite fair and well-reasoned. He was professional and his judicial temperament was just fine. No complaints.

Litigant

Comment #: 18083
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
On Ocober 2, 2006 had more than a year's worth of calendar work listed. I believe this was a sanction for dismissing civil complaints.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 12863
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I found Judge Selna to be quite pleasant in his demeanor, industrious, timely in the issuance of tentative rulings well in advance of the hearings and always very clear and correct in his rulings. A very fine judge and a pleasure to be in his courtroom!

Other

Comment #: 12611
Rating:9.0

Comments:
Really nice person and an excellent judge. Doesn't seem to have the "God complex."

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 11657
Rating:8.0

Comments:
A fine judge. Hardly in the pocket of big business. Often gets it right, in terms of appellate review, compared to other judges.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 10168
Rating:1.3

Comments:
James V. Selna should not be a presiding judge in a game of "duck duck goose". That is of course unless one of the players has deep pockets.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 10119
Rating:7.3

Comments:
Runs his court and conducts himself in a way that appears fair in decisions leading up to trial. However, flip flops on his own decisions and biased on the side of "Big Business" in decisions where it really counts.

Other

Comment #: 10012
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Small minded judge; hates to make decisions; does not follow the law

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 9626
Rating:1.0

Comments:
this kind of person should never even be let near a bench - always sides with whatever side has more money - be it bank or large corporation and he has no compassion whatsoever

Other

Comment #: 8607
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Selna's recent ruling against free speech using the Lemon Test is unbelievably stupid. He claims he cannot find a "secular purpose" in the declaration that creationism is "superstitious nonsense." Then he's a complete nitwit! The state has a more than compelling secular interest in standing against pseudoscience!

Other

Comment #: 6259
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
When he threw out the case that Shell Oil Company dealers had against Shell Oil, he pretty much jumped in bed with Big Oil, and showed he is more focused on his future in a political arena owned by big money interests. Shell dealers have been run out of business, and many ruined financially, by their parent oil company, and he is helping by throwing the case out. He should be ashamed. Just my opinion.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 5906
Rating:9.8

Comments:
Judge Selna is hard-working, smart, and seemed very fair in the consumer-related cases I brought before him. He didn't give me everything I wanted, but he diligently strived to reach the legally correct and fair result.

In pre-trial matters, he often appears stern and formal, but he becomes slightly more casual with the parties when they are in trial with him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: 5013
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Judge Selna is intelligent, industrious, and not, as some believe, pro-government or small-minded. Actually, he is very reserved, polite, and almost always gets it right. He was a real lawyer, and he's a real judge. He is accommodating to lawyers while capable of being firm when that's necessary. His apparently humorless demeanor belies a wry sense of humor. He's quite a nice man.

Other

Comment #: 4554
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Rubber stamp for the government. Has myopic vision of what a federal judge should be and how one should respond to public pressure. Small-minded, to put it nicely.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: 4335
Rating:4.4

Comments:
Bush appointee. Friendly, not particularly scholarly. Appears not to fully grasp issues and favors government defendants.

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Ratings

What others have said about Hon. James V. Selna

Comments

Litigant

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Litigant

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Other

Other

Civil Litigation - Private

Civil Litigation - Private

Other

Criminal Defense Lawyer