"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. Earl H. Maas III	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
San Diego County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 5.1 - 15 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 4.0 - 3 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. Earl H. Maas III

Comments

Other

Comment #: CA47770
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
This judge is biased and shows favoritism towards friends. Be VERY wary of being in his courtroom. He acts like he is on top of things but is easily clouded in his judgements. VERY bad experience and was warned about him by other attorneys. The other review below is SPOT ON:

"Doesn't read the briefs and doesn't care. Picks a winner and a loser day one and makes arbitrary rulings accordingly. Rules one way orally and reverses in writing. Issues vague rulings so he can reinterpret later."

Another attorney put into a judge chair for political reasons. Waste of time and $ if you go into his court room. Embarrassing for our legal process which is so corrupt and this judge exemplifies exactly this.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA35776
Rating:9.0

Comments:
No one is perfect. In hindsight, could things have been done differently to prevent an unjust result later? Sure. But that does not mean that Judge Maas isn't an excellent, fair, intelligent, and industrious jurist. Now that Casserly is gone, Maas is how I always hope to draw.

Litigant

Comment #: CA28137
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Judge Maas had clearly reviewed the pleadings and evidence, was prepared for the hearings, and was clear in the reasons for his rulings. He wasn't distracted by emotional issues, but followed the law and facts. He made a real effort to urge settlement and caution against going for the "home run". He was lenient when the other party failed initially to follow his order to halt construction and, while clearly disturbed by an improper attempted ex parte communication, he was measured in his cautions to the other party. Overall very fair and reasonable.

Other

Comment #: CA26035
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Inexplicably halted the construction of an elementary school right in the middle of a project. His decision has left children to attend school in a construction site for the foreseeable future, endangering their welfare, depriving them of essential experiences and and is against the will of the voters in favor of a few geriatric homeowners who expect an elementary school to rot to pieces so their view is unobstructed. He actually made this decision because he deems a tree to be more important than education and safety for kindergarteners.

Litigant

Comment #: CA19986
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Doesn't read the briefs and doesn't care. Picks a winner and a loser day one and makes arbitrary rulings accordingly. Rules one way orally and reverses in writing. Issues vague rulings so he can reinterpret later. Never made a tentative ruling or during oral arguments, issues them afterward so you can't rebut. If opposing council is a "regular" in his court, you will lose. Plan ahead on an appeal.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA19730
Rating:9.5

Comments:
I don't know what these other raters are smoking. I spent 12 hours over 2 days in a settlement conference with this judge and he helped us reach a complex resolution that was a win for both sides. He knew the law, the facts, and most importantly what a jury was likely to do. Very impressive.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA19576
Rating:1.4

Comments:
This judge is lazy and admits he cannot read everything. Where do we get these folks? Bad draw and cannot be educated.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA13947
Rating:3.4

Comments:
Has made ruling before hearing every time. Predetermined for large bank's interest, is completely blind to what he does not want to see. Accepts obvious fraud, goes beyond rule of law to facilitate Bank's wishes.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA13625
Rating:4.0

Comments:
Rule of law does not matter, never reads the filings and says so, feels for credibility and believes every lie told by opposing nasty attorney even after you prove it! God forbid you challenge him, his clerks are the worst too, lazy, and will lie at drop of a hat.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA12951
Rating:9.0

Comments:
Great judge! He was very hardworking, patient, and fair.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA11553
Rating:4.7

Comments:
He annoyed when my client expressed her
incredulity at the testimony of the attorney defendant who admitted taking her files and putting her out of business. He became so annoyed that he gave a judgment to this thieving attorney on the grounds that her behavior siting at the plaintiff's tables, which he never objected to, destroyed her credibility. He does not comply with procedural rules and practices, hearing motions without the presence of one party, granting continuances of deadlines on the basis of clearly tainted testimony, sometimes even on his own motion. Challenge at the first opportunity!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA11023
Rating:6.2

Comments:
Re a motion:

1. Failed to give a tentative ruling.
2. Failed to rule on written objections to declarations even though one declaration determined outcome.
3. Failed to rule on request for § 632 Finds of Fact & Conclusions of law.

Would affidavit if assigned to him again.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA10987
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Highly biased judge that told me (attorney) that he can't be expected to read any of the filings. Refused to hear argument at a hearing. Dismissive. No respect for basic practical law. Not objective. Decides arbitrarily based on feelings.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA10131
Rating:3.5

Comments:
Judge Maas is just not willing to take the time to dig into the case in order to make a correct decision. Other attorney was able to blatantly lie with no repercussions. This lying happened at multiple hearings and was proven to be lying without sanction or ridicule. Judge Maas comes off as very unprepared. I would never take a matter in front of this judge again.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA6821
Rating:3.5

Comments:
Horrible Judge. Shoots from the hip and is in with the wealthier litigant. Hob nobs with lawyers that he knows to the determent of others.
Does not study cases.

Other

Comment #: CA6648
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
How dare you make a decision on the golf course in Escondido. The city voted NOT to allow additional housing on that property. We are in a drought, try to get onto 15 from 78, and listen to your neighbors, or maybe NOT your neighbors as you may not live in this area. You need to remember that your position is one that the people vote for. The Country Club neighbors are not NOT HAPPY!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA6366
Rating:3.8

Comments:
I hope this well positioned judge gets removed from his unopposed position before he makes a wrong decision in a life and death case like in my case. He must hate renters rights. After 3 raw sewage spills because landlord failed to fix the plumbing, renter was blamed for putting wet wipes in the septic while 3 families drained into it. Maas made renter fix it. Landlord illegally attached garage apartment to renters utilities without notice but renter never got compensated. This is a judge with bad decisions. Use a jury around him. He has no mechanical ability or comprehension. Neither does he use normal common logical sense.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA2920
Rating:6.6

Comments:
Judge Maas is biased against lawyers trained at Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College.

Litigant

Comment #: CA2626
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
This judge refused to disclose his monetary interest in a insurance defense law firm Thompson & Allesio who represented a lawyer for malpractice. Maas used his influence and friends on the bench to sabotage the case in his law firm's favor.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA1187
Rating:8.0

Comments:
I only appeared once before him. Excellent demeanor and sharp, but didn't seem particularly well-prepared, although very conversant with the applicable law, and appeared very practical, get-down-to the-issues type.