Hon. Joseph M Quinn See Rating Details
Judge
Superior Court
San Francisco County
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Attorney Average Rating:   2.5 - 5 rating(s)
Non-Attorney Average Rating:   4.0 - 3 rating(s)
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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)
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What others have said about Hon. Joseph M Quinn


Comments


Litigant

Comment #: CA49224
Rating:8.0
Comments:
Thrown to the sharks by my attorney abandoning my case, I requested a 3 month stay if the court would not order the law firm to provide me with other counsel. The 3 month stay was so I could be free to find new counsel. He seemed to do his best, but I had made a mistake that made my request for counsel assignment impossible.
The 2 opposing counsels, Fitzgerald and Piser opposed the stay. The judge asked for their promise to behave themselves for a few weeks. He said he would grant it, so they did, with reluctance. This was a mistake on is part as they both immediately (1 intervening court day) bombed me with letters and threats, which greatly interfered. This has been their strategy. Since discovery is heard exclusively by pro-tem judges, who are all uninformed and uninterested in history, I think they knew their "promise" was meaningless so they thumbed their noses at the court. I don't have any complaints otherwise. Unlike the pro-tem judges, he definitely read the papers and understood it all.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA43699
Rating:3.6
Comments:
Rude to litigants, attorneys, and court staff. Clearly does not like his job and has a chip on his shoulder. Is probably smart but unfortunately does not show modesty about it, as he acts as if he's the smartest person in the room. Terrible demeanor that is unbecoming of a judge. My apologies to anyone who has to appear before him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA40148
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Judge Quinn appears to hate his job, life, and all who appear before him. He is easily enraged. Appears to think all counsel who appear before him must be chastised; has no respect for counsel or parties. His rulings reflect his anger rather than the merits before him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA33838
Rating:1.5
Comments:
I appeared in a guardianship matter and Judge Quinn was quick tempered, exceptionally rude and dismissive. He needlessly yelled at me and made clear that he did not understand a very basic procedural issue.

Litigant

Comment #: CA25721
Rating:1.0
Comments:
I was charged with Felony Assault for throwing 1 punch-- an excessive charge to say the least, but be that as it may, the attitude of Judge Quinn during mu arraignment indicated to me that were my case to go to trial (First offense, not likely to be found guilty) - There was no way I was going to get a fair trial. The man shouted at me, berated me and left me no recourse but to go through Veterans Court.

He abused his power, allowing the prosecution to bring evidence to my arraignment while I was not afforded the same opportunity (My father was in the room and could've cleared the matter with one question)

Needless to say, the man ruined my life by not allowing MY mistake to be rectified and corrected.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA11434
Rating:3.8
Comments:
I appeared in a contested civil harassment restraining order case recently; both sides had counsel.

Some courts will allow both sides to put on their cases fully. I have had that experience in two Bay Area cases recently.

Judge Quinn makes it clear he is unhappy about his docket. He is out of sorts and approaching the border of rudeness, as is one of his staff members. He is short with counsel when there is no need to be, and when counsel were uber polite with him and his staff.

He imposed absurd time limits for evidence even though both sides had video evidence and multiple nonparty witnesses.

I suspect that he knew he was going to grant relief, and therefore knew he would not deprive any party of their rights by refusing to allow full evidence or even an offer of proof. He should have gone about doing that by telling the parties and counsel at the outset what his inclinations were, and letting them litigate any issue. I won, but the other side had a due process challenge based on the inability to present its case fully.

He was presented with evidence of very serious harassment, but he provided relief for only a short period of time without evidence that the harassment would end.

I won the case, but will 170.6 him every time henceforth. He has a poor demeanor, and is not really interested in the evidence or arguments. He is easily the most contemptuous judicial officer since Judith Saunders.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA10078
Rating:2.8
Comments:
Quinn gave an incredibly shoot from the hip ruling, with little understanding of the appellate cases involved. Truly seemed to not understand the law, although it may have been sheer laziness in not reading the cases as he asked for cites to cases that were explained in the briefs. Does not seem overworked, and did not have a busy courtroom, yet acts like he has no time. High strung temperament.