"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. Joel L. Lofton	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
Los Angeles County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 4.3 - 3 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 10.0 - 1 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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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. Joel L. Lofton

Comments

Other

Comment #: CA32309
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I rate Judge Lofton very high as a professional. I've known Judge Lofton for many years and in every situation found him extraordinarily thoughtful, perceptive, knowledgeable, balanced, compassionate and caring. At the same time, I've never known him to allow emotion to sway his judgment. My personal opinion of the two negative comments posted here is that they read like sour grapes of attorneys who did not get their way or appreciate a dry and ironic sense of humor (one of them appears to hold Judge Lofton's race against him, which says more about the attorney than the Judge).

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA27257
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Lofton is the laziest judge I have entered at the LASC in 35 years of practice. He does not care what the law is so long as the decision allows him to avoid earning his salary. He if of African American descent and strongly favors people of his own race, regardless of the law or the merits of the case. It is a crime that he is earning any money for what he does. 170.6 him so he can sit back in chambers and sleep or watch TV or whatever he does when he is supposed to be earning his money. A big zero.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA22284
Rating:1.9

Comments:
During trial, it was pointed out to this arbiter of the law of the people that the process server did not mail notice until 7 days after posting it. He said, "That was not his testimony."

When confronted with the truth during a new trial hearing embodied in a recording of the process server actually saying, "Yeah, I mailed it 7 days later," he merely shrugged, pulled out his judge's book, and said, "Whelp, it don't say how many days you have so it's probably fine. Your attorney's can always appeal.

This is a man who deserves no discretion, and whose decisions certainly deserve no deference. Only a lazy person unworthy of the honor of his position would say, out-loud, that the appellate court will just do his job for him?

This kind of behavior is the root cause the disintegration of faith in our government that we see at all levels of society. The fact his years of experience cause him to interpret a substituted service statute as LIMITLESS indicates, and then just expects the appellate court to pick up the slack shows wanton disregard for transparency in legislation.

No one forced him to become a judge, and it is apparent the only reason he vied for the position relates to vanity and self aggrandizement.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA16956
Rating:10.0

Comments:
I thought he was one of the best judge's I've seen in a very long time. Highest praise & respect.