Hon. William D. Stewart See Rating Details
Judge
Superior Court
Los Angeles County
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Attorney Average Rating:   5.9 - 9 rating(s)
Non-Attorney Average Rating:   2.0 - 4 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. William D. Stewart


Comments


Litigant

Comment #: CA49311
Rating:8.0
Comments:
GREAT JUDJE
Remember him his kindness very comm fallow the all the rule and law .in family court he was trial judje never close door of justice respect for him,i may not agree his ruleing as father but i admire him respect many more years he can be part of our justice system SUNNY # ED029722

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA38538
Rating:4.6
Comments:
Judge Stewart appears to be a very nice man. Unfortunately, he is well past his prime. He no longer has any ability to handle legal issues. He issues tentative rulings that he then reverses. He issues rulings that he then reverses later. His rulings are all over the map and are very hard to correlate to the law. He and his staff are very sloppy. Like I said, he is a very nice man, but an awful judge. I would 170.6 in the future.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA32977
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
The worst Judge ever. He is totally bias to one side even when the other side is late doesn't follow civil procedure. Did not provide for attorney with hearing loss even though requested. Yelled and refused to listen to side he didn't like. Everything a Judge should not be.

Litigant

Comment #: CA10744
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Judge Stewart instructed his clerk, Mr. Hernandez, to contact non-standing parties ex-parte to object to his own decision in a prove up hearing. Four months later he refuses to sign his own judgement in favor of the plaintiff that might jeopardize the bank's position. When confronted with his own words from the transcript, he literally threw the transcript across the courtroom, dismissed the hearing, and ran into his judge's chambers. This guy is a joke and the joke is on the people of the county of Los Angeles. It's too bad that an incompetent judge can do whatever he wants in the courtroom and people, who have followed the court rules to the letter, end up with a capricious decision that ultimately protects the banks.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA9926
Rating:7.5
Comments:
Having won and lost in his courtroom I have mixed feelings but I want to like this judge. He has a TV personality and treats his courtroom like a comedy skit which I guess is a good thing to take away the stress of legal disputes. He has a terrible memory so every time you have to start educating him on the facts and arguments all over again. He or his research attorney writes detailed tentative rulings. He is no hurry to decide a motion or start a trial so get ready for multiple continuances and delays. Overall a unique judge with a big personality.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA9472
Rating:1.7
Comments:
It is time for Judge Stewart to go. He does nothing to hide his partiality towards one side over another. He has no problem wasting time or giving counsel he likes a ridiculous number of opportunities at the time and expense of counsel that actually does their job. He is checked out and clearly does not care anymore.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA8035
Rating:8.6
Comments:
My favorite judge in the county. I've appeared before Judge Stewart more than a hundred times for CMC, motions and jury trial. He is erudite, sufficiently patient, polite, evenhanded and respectful to litigants and counsel. The jury loves him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA7944
Rating:9.4
Comments:
Judge Stewart is a trial lawyer's trial judge. He loves being on the bench even after all of these years, telling war stories and cracking the occasional joke to break the tension. He loves being in trial. While he is efficient with his courtroom, he lets you have the time you need to put on your case because he likes his job and does not resent being in trial like so many other judges. I had a two-week, extremely contentious trial before him. While I did not agree with every evidentiary ruling he made, he got all the major decisions right both in terms of the law and in terms of basic justice. Great trial judge. I only wish there were more like him in state and federal court.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA7561
Rating:10.0
Comments:
Had my first appearance in front of him today. He was extremely patient and kind. Rare in a judge. His temperament, alone, makes him a good judge. I sat in his court room for almost two hours, watching him on all of the other cases during his motion calendar. He never lost his cool, never displayed arrogance, and was very patient. I give him high marks.

Litigant

Comment #: CA7481
Rating:1.0
Comments:
He's lazy. He never read our complaint, or heard our side of the story. He so much on the bank's side that the opposing attorneys can literally phone it in, and barely needs to speak because Judge Stewart argues their case for them. If this isn't on the bank's payroll, then I'm a monkey's uncle. He needs to be investigated, and then removed.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA7480
Rating:2.0
Comments:
He is lazy. He is against minorities. His tentative rulings are done by his clerk Hernandez who is not an attorney. Hernandez issues orders and calls the attorneys he likes and tells them to give a notice. He decides when the court should be dark. Hernandez is just a clerk with no law degree but makes all the decision in that court. Stewart only follows those decisions Hernandez make.Hernandez engages in many ex-parte communications only with the attorneys he likes. This judge must go, so should his clerk.

Other

Comment #: CA6180
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Very poor. Fell asleep during the case, didn't listen, took opposing counsel in his chambers to "chat" since it was his friend. Very racist against non whites and people from minority communities. Needs to retire.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA4842
Rating:1.6
Comments:
You've got to be kidding me! This judge granted not one, but three separate ex parte apps for terminating sanctions. He will never engage in argument, because he doesn't know the case or what's written by his clerks in tentatives. If you have a weak case, keep him. He is a nice man, but he should retire.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA3551
Rating:7.8
Comments:
Very nice gentleman, professional, even tempered, and tries to move the case along during trial.