"The Robing Room: CA State Judges

Hon. John S. Meyer	See Rating Details
Judge Superior Court
San Diego County	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 4.2 - 19 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 5 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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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. John S. Meyer

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA49376
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I am in disbelief that such an individual is allowed to be a judge. After some research it appears the reason this "judge" has his position on the bench is because he ran unopposed without competition (see ballotpedia.org) and thus won by default. That explains it. Our system should not allow for this to occur as it leads to poor quality candidates who lack experience and knowledge to handle the role and it leads to abuses of the legal process as there is no vetting or challenge and could be harmful to cases / decisions that have important implications.

Civil Litigation - Govt.

Comment #: CA49341
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Appearing in front of him shook my faith in our judicial system. I saw him act abusively towards attorneys that appeared before my case was called. During my case, he was closed-minded and demeaning. It was my worst experience ever in the courtroom. I will 170.6 him everytime going forward but hopefully he will just retire and stay retired

Litigant

Comment #: CA45265
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Utterly dumbfounded how a person of this low a caliber is able to find themselves in a judge's seat. The status quo of toxic men in this city's judiciary is third world corrupt. Judge Meyer is the most unprofessional judge I have had the displeasure of standing in front of. He clearly does not seem to either know or respect what an evidentiary is for, and a hearing set to take a day he insisted end in less than thirty minutes. An evidentiary hearing where the judge refuses to review evident, how novel. Demeaning to counsel, litigants and stooping to the lowest by calling parties "stupid" and obviously believes himself to be above his role. [redacted]

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA44478
Rating:1.0

Comments:
This Judge should not be on the bench. He does not serve the best interest of the people of San Diego well. He is rude, obnoxious, doesn't understand the law and takes pleasure in belittling people in his courtroom. He does not read papers and makes decisions from the hip. The Judicial Committee needs to review his decisions.

Litigant

Comment #: CA39801
Rating:3.0

Comments:
I have been in front of this judge 3 times.My Attorney is
a friend of the plaintiffs attorney.My attorney never showed up for court.When I question Relph about her
role in this Situation.She replied,attorneys do favors for each other all the time.I was never notified about the next 4 court dates.Judge Meyer told me not to talk.Set
A date for trial.Last week when trail started.Mrs Chris
Relph told Meyer,her client would not be here for
two weeks.When I asked to speak he said no.He dosent
like Mexican Jews. He's German.Hes going to burn me.

other

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA38628
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Let's face it, most cases are simple and 95% of the time one party is off the reservation on the law. Judge has an intuitive sense of this reality and spends the energy where and when it is necessary. I like a judge with some Patton in him. Suck it up snowflakes!

Litigant

Comment #: CA36645
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Made decision for TRO without allowing Defendant Per Se to speak and without reading any of Defendant's filed objections!!!

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA35479
Rating:9.5

Comments:
I have tried at least 25 civil cases to verdict including one in front of Judge Meyer. I found him to be a great trial judge, knows the evidence, he is even handed and capable. He treats the jury and counsel with respect. I would not hesitate to try another case in front of him. I have read the other comments about him and they surprised me. I am a woman and have never seen him treat women differently. I really don't think he is sexist. But I have seen him address some counsel by name and not others, but generally it has been because he knows some lawyers and does not know others. In my last trial with him he addressed me by name but not my associate, a man grey haired and 15 years older than me. I have seen him show impatience and intolerance but in every instance, I could see why because each time the attorney or the party was acting like an idiot and deserved the treatment. He expects counsel to be prepared and cooperative and if you are not then I think you can expect the consequences.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA32814
Rating:1.0

Comments:
I had a horrible experience with Judge Meyer. I am shocked he is allowed to serve on the bench. His rulings were ridiculous, abusive and I believe they were due to my client being a minority. Can someone please tell me what can be done? My client suffered tremendously because of this Judge.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA28771
Rating:2.5

Comments:
Short-tempered, doesn't listen, and rude. Doesn't know the law and his courtroom attorney will intervene mid-hearings when he is about to do something particularly egregious. Sexist and belittling. Violated civil rights and engaged in discrimination to the point where I had to make a judicial council complaint and seek outside remedies.

Other

Comment #: CA28614
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Brutal
All over the map
Uses own rule of law to lead into bias ruling
Terrible excuse for a judicial officer of the court system
Grade F

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA25079
Rating:5.5

Comments:
Congruent with other comments on this page, Meyer is sexist, disrespectful and unfairly prejudicial to younger, female attorneys. In trial, he consistently addressed one attorney (an older male) as Mr. Doe, but never addressed the opposing attorneys (two younger females) by their names. He also made an inappropriate comment about the female attorneys' age. Although he caught himself and apologized for the comment, it was disappointing to see such misogyny alive and well and San Diego.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA19913
Rating:8.6

Comments:
Judge Meyer can be belittling at times, however, if you have thick skin and can tolerate an occasional insult, he is fair and will take the time to review all papers.
Tried a complex case brought by a government entity before him in 2017. While I was an out of town attorney, I never felt as if my adversaries, who were well known local attorneys, had an advantage. He stayed out of our way and allowed us to to try our respective cases.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA15206
Rating:2.6

Comments:
Worst judge I have had in 30 years worse than the other two bad judges that are on the floor: pollock and trapp who look so dumb and incompetent in comparison w good judges like timothy taylor and rel struass

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA14273
Rating:6.6

Comments:
I witnessed this judge angrily tell two young female attorneys in the middle of oral argument on a serious pretrial issue, "you're difficult aren't you? She's no peach [gesturing to opposing counsel], but you're a real piece of work, aren't you?"
In the next matter, two male attorneys argued and yelled over the podium at each other while he laughed about it.

The two women later told me they considering making a bar complaint, but didn't want to risk damage to their own reputations.

It's disgusting that someone with such explicit bias against and open disdain for women (or maybe just younger attorneys?) is able to speak to professionals in that manner in open court. I was embarrassed for those attorneys and the bench in general.

Stay away if you're younger attorney, a woman, or have the novel belief that those factors don't justify being treated with disrespect.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA13631
Rating:2.3

Comments:
My worst experience in 40 years of practicing law was trying a Lemon Law case in front of him. He didn't understand the case and consistently, and incorrectly, ruled in favor of the manufacturer. He was rude, angry and short-tempered the entire 7 day trial. You should definitely paper him.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA11835
Rating:2.1

Comments:
Totally unfamiliar with the facts of the case. Rude, arrogant, narcissistic. I would advise EVERY party unlucky enough to be assigned the star chamber he calls his department to challenge this little Hitler immediately. Grotesque

Other

Comment #: CA11581
Rating:1.0

Comments:
He is a nightmare for people who seeks justice and fairness.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: CA10897
Rating:2.9

Comments:
I agree with the other posters. He is one-sided, biased, intemperate and a bully. He is a misogynist. Best challenge him if you are so unfortunate to draw him. He reminds me a bit of a judge who had to leave the bench some years back because he got his third DUI. We finally knew why he was so mean all the time - he was an alcoholic. Meyer reminds me of that. He comes right into the court with a chip on his shoulder.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA10673
Rating:6.1

Comments:
The descriptions of Judge Meyer are spot on. He can be a real bully and unreasonably opinionated but fortunately I haven't been the subject of his wrath. He seems to favor general liability defense. I have been on both plaintiff and defense with him and if you have a serious injury case on the plaintiff side you may want to weigh whether it is wise to keep him. He seemingly disfavors punitive damages. But if you preempt him you might get Judge Trapp which can be a disaster for any litigant.

Litigant

Comment #: CA10423
Rating:Not Rated
Comments:
Scary.

It was exactly as the others commenting mentioned.
In my case, the police requested on my behalf as a Credible Threat, an Emergency Protective Order, after a former Deputy DA arrived at my house with a fully loaded Glock (He wanted to "talk" to me about taking down a post I referenced about his naked sexting from the office).

The police confiscated his Concealed Carry Permit, and a total of eight weapons - seven from his parent's home, one that he brought with him to my home.

The police suggested I ask for a Permanent Restraining order. After researching his family court case, I made copies of his Declaration stating he felt he didn't need to take the three mood stabilizers he'd been prescribed.

Just Meyer denied my request. Judge Meyer said "I don't want to ruin his career." Judge Meyer is the best casual example of Everyday Misogyny San Diego has to offer.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA7150
Rating:5.6

Comments:
Judge Meyer often speaks too much from the hip and doesn't focus on the details or the letter of the law. If he hates your case from the beginning, it is difficult to flip him. At times, he can be disrespectful.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA6720
Rating:3.3

Comments:
Judge Meyer picks his winning horse at the outset and sticks with him. He is intolerant, impatient and unwilling to take the time necessary to deal with discovery disputes or other matters that come up during trial. A common refrain is "come on!" which simply means he doesn't want to deal with it. He makes arbitrary rulings and does not take the time to try and understand the law. He needs to retire.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA4727
Rating:3.6

Comments:
Judge Meyer makes up his mind in the first few minutes of a case. To his credit, he still has somewhat of an open mind, but the burden is on you to show that he was wrong -- even if the law puts the burden on the other side. He is always concerned about time, and cuts off witnesses and evidence that he doesn't care about, or that don't support his decision.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: CA1188
Rating:5.3

Comments:
I have have mixed experiences. One good, one awful. Once he gets an opinion, he pretty much sticks with it and then crafts the facts to fit it. Seems like he tries to make the right call, even if its wrong. Generally made good evidentiary calls at trial. Lacked decisiveness on pretrial matters. Overall, I probably would not want to appear before him again.