"The Robing Room: TX State Judges

Hon. Jaclanel McFarland	See Rating Details
Judge District Court
Harris County 133rd	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 3.2 - 11 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 1.0 - 2 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. Jaclanel McFarland

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: TX1248
Rating:3.3

Comments:
Cases languish on docket.

Incapable of dissecting complex issues; likely due to fault of no or incompetent staff attorney. Wants to do "mama bear" justice her way. Opposes essentially all discovery quibbles. Arbitrary shifts in attitude mid-case after adopting previous position.

Former Baylor regent with bad dogs story. https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/neighbors-blame-harris-county-judge-for-aggressive-dogs-on-the-loose/285-259017465

Disagree with claim that she is pro-plaintiff. "equities" seem to land with defendants no matter how clear the law is.

Suggestion: keep every single motion and argument dead simple, and open with a real nice story every single time.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: TX1209
Rating:1.0

Comments:
this is where cases go to die - motions sit unruled on for years, yes, literally years, her genuine desire with civil cases is to not look at them and hope they settle out of court so she doesn't have to deal with them, justice is NOT being done in this courtroom

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: TX853
Rating:8.6

Comments:
This judge is very fair, and if she makes an incorrect ruling she is willing to change it. She’s worked very hard in my cases and had a discovery hearing every two weeks. She is bright and was never unprepared

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: TX669
Rating:1.6

Comments:
This is the least knowledgeable and least prepared judge I have seen in my entire career. So many whacky rulings. She brings shame to the entire judiciary and our profession

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: TX667
Rating:1.3

Comments:
Jaclanel McFarland is the worst judge I've ever been in front of. She has a bias towards her friends and when they are in her court, she will allow them to abuse the discovery process, allow them to make misrepresentations about the facts, and she will make blatantly improper rulings that benefit her friends. Judges like McFarland are the reason our judicial system sometimes fails and has such a horrible representation.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: TX491
Rating:2.0

Comments:
Disgrace to the bench. The laziest most unprepared state judge bar none. Even tempered, always with a smile. Always wrong about the law and too ignorant to know it.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: TX323
Rating:2.3

Comments:
This judge is often wrong but never uncertain that she is right. She knows a lot, but everything she knows is wrong. Also, overreaches her authority and fails to read the law; cares nothing about the law.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: TX317
Rating:1.6

Comments:
This judge is incompetent, sleeps during trials, and makes judgments before listening to the case. She never reads motions, and always rules in favor of plaintiffs.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: TX45
Rating:9.3

Comments:
This judge is a great judge! She lets both sides try their case in court. She is efficient with pretrial matters. She has a great temperament and is not full of herself like some judges.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: TX6
Rating:2.3

Comments:
This judge is completely biased towards the plaintffs -- and admits it. A defendant's first motion should be a motion to recuse. Do not try a case with this judge.