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| Author | Mark Thompson/Elizabeth Smith |
| Pages | 289-336 |
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Profiles Gaffey279
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GAFFEY, Michael
Temperament/Demeanor
Judge Gaffey is “a very decent, thoughtful, polite, consid-
erate judge,” said one of the attorneys who was interviewed
about him. Other interviewees offered similarly favorable
assessments. “He doesn’t get rattled. He doesn’t yell or
scream or shout. He’s kind of a quiet spoken guy,” a sec-
ond interviewee said. A third interviewee added, “He has
great judicial temperament. He is very warm and consider-
ate.” Two attorneys, while generally agreeing with the rave
reviews, said that sometimes he displays a flash of disdain.
“I have had quite a bit of experience with him. I have a gener-
ally favorable opinion of him. But at times, he has tempera-
ment issues with certain types of defendants who may not
have what he considers to be an appropriate attitude,” said
one. Another interviewee added, “In terms of demeanor, gen-
erally I would give him a good rating. I think that he runs a
fairly informal court. Sometimes he may make some smarty-
pants remark, but not often.”
Intelligence/Knowledge
Judge Gaffey is “a good lawyer and an excellent judge,”
with extensive felony trial experience from his prior career
as a deputy district attorney in two counties, said one inter-
viewee. “He did gang stuff when he was a prosecutor,” the
attorney noted. Another interviewee called him “diligent and
hard working.” A third interviewee said he is “very knowledge-
able” and added, “I have nothing but favorable things to say
about him. On a scale of one to 10, I would give him about a
9 ½.” One interviewee was somewhat more lukewarm in his
assessment. “I think he’s competent. He’s not one of the most
brilliant jurists, but he knows criminal law pretty well from
having done it long enough,” the attorney said.
On Motions
Criminal defense attorneys who commented on Judge
Gaffey praised him for his open mindedness. “He will look up
stuff and will admit when he’s wrong, which is better than
most,” said one. “He is fair, and he will change his mind, if
you can convince him of something else,” said another. A
third attorney concurred, saying, “I have always found him
to be very open to argument and very reasonable.” A fourth
interviewee added, “He always gives very careful consideration
to all requests on all manners of legal issues. I’m not saying
I always agree with him. We’ve had some disagreements on
points of law, but it has always been a polite, well thought
out, well argued, well discussed issue.” A fifth defense attor-
ney said, “He is not afraid to rule and do what’s right most of
the time, as far as any judge can go. He is balanced on both
ends. He is not afraid to do the politically incorrect thing on
a murder case. He did a 995 [dismissal of a felony charge]
on one of the ancillary parts of the case on which my cli-
ent clearly should not have been held to answer, and so he
ruled correctly, as far as I was concerned. Most of the time,
the judges don’t do that. They just pass the buck up to the
appellate division.” A deputy public defender praised Judge
Gaffey’s “courage to resolve matters,” citing, for example, his
willingness to grant defense motions to reduce felony charges
to misdemeanors “in appropriate situations.” The defender
added, “My experiences with him have been really good.”
On Trial
One interviewee with trial experience in Judge Gaffey’s
court said, “He generally conducts the court well and doesn’t
interfere too much with attorneys. He lets them do their job.”
Another interviewee said Judge Gaffey gave a sentencing
proceeding far more attention than other judges might have,
to good effect. “He helped resolve it, but one of the big issues
was determining restitution,” the attorney said. “He gave us
a long time to do that. I think there are a lot of judges who
would have moved it more quickly, just in the interest of
time, and maybe would not have arrived at as careful and
well reasoned an analysis, and how to work it out as well as
he did. I was very impressed with that. I was pleased with
the fact that he took the time and clearly read over things
that were presented to him and wanted to understand them
and then even went to the extent of submitting a proposed
decision to us for review. A lot of times judges, particularly in
the criminal courts, where things are so busy, are just more
peremptory and not as careful. So I give him high marks for
that.” Other interviewees said they had not yet had Judge
Gaffey in a trial because, as one explained, “when he took
the bench, he immediately went into the calendar depart-
ment and was there for three years.”
Continuances
Attorneys who were interviewed about Judge Gaffey had
no complaints about how he handles requests for extensions
of time. “He’s pretty good,” said one. Another called him “very
reasonable,” though he is, appropriately, not a pushover.
Two other interviewees said, “I didn’t see anything unfair
about the way he handled continuances. He did not always
grant requests, but he considered them fairly, I thought.” “He
is very reasonable about continuances. He is one of those
judges who does what I think judges should do at some point
in time. Cases get so old that they have to clamp down a little
bit on it, but his position has been, and he stated this right
from the first day he took the job, that he would grant any
continuance, as long as it was reasonable. I don’t think any-
body had trouble getting continuances from him. I never did.”
Settlement
Judge Gaffey, who is a former prosecutor, “has an abil-
ity to actually resolve cases because he will push the DA to
do things, and he will sometimes independently do things
that the DAs refuse to do, in order to resolve the case,” one
criminal defense attorney said. Two other defense attor-
neys agreed. “When a case was sent to his department for
a preliminary hearing when he was the executive judge, we
would sometimes plead stuff to him that the DA wouldn’t go
for, and he knew enough to undercut the DA, not to give us
everything we wanted but to try and clear up the calendar.
So he is a practical person,” said one. Another added, “He
was willing to participate in sentencing discussions. If the
DA wanted a certain punishment, he wouldn’t necessarily go
along with it if he had his own idea. You could plead to the
sheet in front of him,” admitting to all the charges, leaving
the sentencing decision entirely in his hands.
Proclivities
One interviewee, who noted that Judge Gaffey was a
prosecutor in Santa Clara County and Alameda County
before he became a judge, said he “tends toward being a
little bit more prosecutorial in his sentencing and rulings
than most judges.” Another defense attorney said, “He is
independent. He still thinks occasionally like a DA on felony
offers when he is doing the felony master calendar. But he
is fabulous. He is an extremely honest, straightforward kind
of a guy.” A third defense attorney complained that he is
unnecessarily hard on defendants who rub him the wrong
way. “The cases can run the gamut, but if he has a problem
with their personality, I think that affects the way he views
a case and treats a defendant. But in general, he’s all right.”
Some of the other criminal defense attorneys who were
interviewed about the judge had no complaints about any
predispositions on his part. “He comes from a DA back-
ground but you would never know it,” said one. “He has
no sign of bias that I can see.” Another said, “He is well
regarded, by criminal defense attorneys anyway. I haven’t
heard anybody complain about him. He is fair. He is reason-
able.” Three other criminal defense attorneys were equally
laudatory in their assessments. “He is certainly a good judge.
I think he tries very hard to be fair. I think he is fair.” “I have
appeared in front of him a few times, and at this juncture,
I have really positive things to say about him. From what I
have seen, he is great. I heard good things about him also
when he was in the calendar department.” “My experiences
with him have always been about as good as they get around
here.” A deputy district attorney with limited personal expe-
rience in his court but with knowledge of the views of other
prosecutors had “only heard good things about him.”
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280Ke California Judge Reviews
Summary
Judge Gaffey is very open to argument and can be per-
suaded to change his mind. Though he is a former deputy
district attorney, he will undercut prosecutors in cases if he
believes they are being unreasonable. He was a highly expe-
rienced trial attorney and it shows in the way he runs his
court. He can get snippy, for example, with defendants who
don’t have what he considers an appropriate attitude, but
for the most part his judicial demeanor is beyond reproach,
attorneys who were interviewed about him said. Some said
he is a “fabulous” judge who gets “great marks all the way
across the boards.” (10J)
ke, Peter L.
Temperament/Demeanor
Judge Gallagher “has a good judicial manner,” said one
of the attorneys interviewed about him. “He’s approachable.
He is always pleasant to appear in front of. He is always very
polite, at least to me.” Other interviewees said he is “very
informal,” “personable,” “affable, jovial and easy to talk to.”
One interviewee, who agreed that Judge Gallagher is “very
friendly,” added that he has “the reputation for being a
complete party boy” and is sometimes “dangerously unpro-
fessional and casual on the bench.” But none of the other
attorneys interviewed about him shared that concern. “He’s
a very good guy. He is a very funny guy,” but he takes his job
seriously, said one. Another said, “I think he is a gentleman
and respectful.” One other interviewee said, “He is the quint-
essential affable Irishman. He is a character. He has the
greatest personality on the bench. He just exudes warmth
and humor from the bench, in a very professional way.”
Intelligence/Knowledge
Judge Gallagher is “a smart guy,” said one interviewee.
The attorney who asserted that he is sometimes unprofes-
sional in court said, “I’m sure he is knowledgeable about
the law.” A third interviewee said, “He is able to get it pretty
quickly. He grasps the issues well. I think he is very good.”
A fourth interviewee, citing his experience as a prosecutor,
said, “He knows the temperature.” One other interviewee
said, “He has an incredible memory. I will tell you that. I had
a client who had appeared before him in drug court maybe
three years earlier, and he said, ‘I remember you.’ That just
blew me away.”
On Motions
One criminal defense attorney said that in ruling on
motions, “It is important to him to get it right, and that was
what was important to me.” Judge Gallagher “is down the
line in his rulings,” said another defense attorney. A third
defender said, “He was a DA, but he is willing to stick his
neck out a little bit” on a ruling favoring the defense. “But I
wouldn’t say he’s 100 percent willing to stick his neck out.”
On Trial
In trial, Judge Gallagher “is good with juries. He is affable
and the jurors like him,” one interviewee said. Another inter-
viewee said, “I had a very contested hearing to try to get some
guy’s sex offense reduced to a misdemeanor. He will hear you
out and hear everything from the DA. We were successful in
getting that done in one case, and in the other, we weren’t.
But he gave us a fair shot. Obviously, I wasn’t happy with
his ruling in the second case, but these are very touchy
cases and judges have to be cognizant of public opinion. But
I would be happy to go in front of him in a trial any day if I
had a similar kind of hearing coming up.” A majority of the
attorneys interviewed about Judge Gallagher had never had
him in a trial, since he has spent long periods of his tenure
on the bench in non-trial assignments. But an attorney who
has appeared before him a number of times in drug court
said, “I have seen him mostly in drug court, and I thought
he got the clients on the right track. I have had real posi-
tive experiences with him. I don’t recall any negative things
about him.” Another attorney said that in drug court, “a
tough assignment with a high incidence of failure, he has
done a really good job.”
Continuances
One interviewee, asked to comment on Judge Gallagher’s
approach to continuances, said, “I thought he was terrific
on scheduling. I think he is very accommodating to lawyers
who will come into court and say they need more time. I have
seen no indication either directly or indirectly of any prob-
lems with him along that line.” Another interviewee said, “I
have not had an issue with him on that. We really haven’t
requested any continuances, but the guy has been around.
He is polite to retained attorneys. Some of these judges who
have been in the DA’s office have no idea what it is like to be
in private practice. They make you sit there while all of the
public defender cases get heard. He would not do that. He is
aware that people who are in business for themselves have
to get in and get out. They can’t afford to be sitting around
all morning. If I said, ‘Judge, I need a continuance,’ as long
as I wasn’t abusing the process and it sounded reasonable,
I think he would give it.”
Settlement
An attorney who has had clients referred to Judge
Gallagher’s drug court said he is very effective at coming up
with appropriate dispositions. “I think he is very articulate,
particularly in drug court, and that’s important. I think he
is good when he talks to people. He doesn’t talk down to
them. He talks directly to them about getting on the right
track,” the attorney said. Another criminal defense attorney
said, “As far as trying to get cases resolved, he will tell you
what he thinks of the case.” A third interviewee said, “A jerk
of a judge can be proactive, but he is not going to settle the
case. But when you get sent to a department like Judge
Gallagher’s, his reputation for fairness is so great that you
are going to settle the case.”
Proclivities
Judge Gallagher “was a wonderful, fair-minded District
Attorney. You could always count on getting very favorable
treatment from him. He has the same kind of qualities as a
judge. Everybody knows they will get very fair treatment from
him,” one criminal defense attorney said. Another defense
attorney said that despite having been a prosecutor earlier in
his career, he is “somewhat moderate as a judge. But I had a
case in which he reversed himself because the DA leaned on
him, and I wish he would have had more backbone.” Three
other defense attorneys said he is “reasonable,” “very fair”
and “great.” A fifth interviewee said, “He wants to do the
right thing. He will be fair with attorneys.” An attorney who
worked with him in the DA’s office and said he is sometimes
unprofessional in court said, “We were all kind of surprised
that he even wanted to be a judge because of the responsi-
bility. He is the consummate, good-time Irish party boy. He
is not above telling the world if he has a hangover.” None of
the other interviews seconded that criticism. “I can see why
they said that,” said one attorney. “He always threw a big St.
Patrick’s Day party. He is a fun guy. And I know there was a
time when he was with the DA’s office and he went part-time.
They had that option, to go part-time to help raise a kid, and
I think he did that, because his wife worked full-time.” But
he does not take his job lightly, that attorney added. “The
cases that we have had with him he took seriously. And I
think he tries to get it right. He is not an ideologue, even
though he was a DA. He is a very good guy…I had a couple
of cases against him when he was a DA, and it was a good
experience, not because he was giving away the store, but
because when you talk to him, he would listen, which is not
always the case with prosecutors. He likes to do the right
thing, and he is not tied to convention.” One other inter-
viewee added, “I hold him in very high regard, and I think
most of the lawyers I know do, as well.”
Summary
Judge Gallagher is the “quintessential affable Irishman,”
attorneys interviewed about him agreed. He is very friendly
and approachable in court. One of the attorneys interviewed
about him said he is sometimes so friendly on the bench that
he crosses the line and is unprofessional. But all other inter-
viewees disputed that assessment and said he is a very com-
petent, diligent judge who takes his job very seriously and
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Profiles Garber281
tries hard to do the right thing. As a deputy district attorney
before he became a judge, he was open-minded and fair, said
criminal defense attorneys interviewed about him, and he
brought those same qualities with him to the bench. (13A)
GALLAGHER, William D.
Temperament/Demeanor
Judge Gallagher displays an appropriate courtroom tem-
perament. Interviewees said, “It’s good,” “It’s formal,” “He’s
businesslike yet friendly,” “He’s respectful and pleasant—
never demeaning” and “He’s businesslike.”
Intelligence/Knowledge
Some interviewees said Judge Gallagher’s legal knowledge
is “average.” Others opined, “It’s above average,” “It’s good”
and “It’s fine.”
On Motions
Most interviewees seem to like the way Judge Gallagher
manages his courtroom. Some described his style as
“between formal and relaxed.” One of them added, “probably
more toward formal.” Others opined, “[His style is] somewhat
formal” and “It’s efficient. He’s in control but he lets you try
your case.” The one dissenting lawyer said, “Judge Gallagher
is unduly controlling.” Every attorney praised this jurist for
being polite to all who appear in his courtroom and always
taking the bench on time.
On Trial
All of the interviewees said Judge Gallagher listens
closely to their arguments and keeps an open mind. One
of them qualified his response by adding, “as much as any
other local judge.” Most interviewees like Judge Gallagher’s
courtroom atmosphere. The majority of them described it as
simply “professional.” Another attorney opined, “It’s profes-
sional and comfortable.” The one critical lawyer said, “[The
atmosphere is] tense.” Two litigators said this jurist moves
cases along at an “appropriate” pace. Others described the
pace as “average” and “efficient.” One final litigator opined,
“Judge Gallagher tries to move cases faster—but you still
have time to put on your case, even though he rushes you a
bit.” Every attorney who evaluated Judge Gallagher’s inter-
actions with jurors said he does well in this area. In fact, two
of them opined, “He interacts very well with jurors.” Both of
the lawyers who felt qualified to evaluate Judge Gallagher’s
openness to requests for special jury instructions said he’s
reasonable about granting such requests. There was a slight
split of opinion regarding Judge Gallagher’s sentencing
habits. Two litigators said his sentences are “moderate” and
“fair.” The other lawyers opined, “[His sentences are] tough”
and “They’re moderate to a little bit tough.”
Continuances
A majority of the attorneys said you have an “average”
chance of obtaining a continuance from Judge Gallagher
once good cause has been demonstrated. One lawyer even
said this jurist is “more likely” to grant one than his peers.
Settlement
Half of the interviewees said Judge Gallagher “stays
reserved” and does not get very involved in helping lawyers
settle their cases. One of them added, “[He] prefers to have
the attorneys work things out.” However, others disagreed
and said, “Judge Gallagher is proactive and has average
skills” and “He’ll help if asked and has average skills.”
Proclivities
A slight majority of the interviewees questioned Judge
Gallagher’s overall fairness. Two of them said his rulings
and decisions “lean moderately toward the prosecution.”
Another lawyer said he leans “slightly toward the D.A.”
Nevertheless, others said they feel you can get a fair trial in
Judge Gallagher’s courtroom. The latter opined, “I’ve never
perceived any bias in his rulings” and his rulings and deci-
sions fall “in the middle of the road.”
Summary
Interviewees seem to appreciate Judge Gallagher’s pleas-
ant courtroom temperament and his overall courtroom
management skills. Most were also pleased with his ability
to move his calendar efficiently. A slight split of opinion was
voiced regarding a possible tendency to favor the prosecution
in some matters. (01G)
GARBER, Bernard Jeffrey
Temperament/Demeanor
Interviewees shared varied opinions regarding Judge
Garber’s courtroom demeanor. Those who like it said, “It’s
fine,” “ It’s businesslike” and “He’s got a good sense of
humor.” Attorneys who were more critical opined, “[His tem-
perament has] improved. But he’s still a bit sarcastic” and
“It’s usually professional and very friendly. But it’s his way
or the highway!”
Intelligence/Knowledge
All of the interviewees said Judge Garber has a good
knowledge of the law. In fact, a majority of them said his
legal acumen is “above average.” Others said, “Judge Garber
is pretty sharp” and “He’s very smart.”
On Motions
More than half of the interviewees described Judge
Garber’s courtroom management style as either “formal” or
“rather formal.” One of them even said, “[His style is] strict.”
One final litigator opined, “[Judge Garber’s style is] formal at
times and relaxed at other times.” Most of the interviewees
said Judge Garber is usually polite to all who enter his court-
room. However, two of them disagreed. One of them just
said, “He isn’t always” courteous and the other one opined,
“He’s polite—except when he’s being sarcastic or when you’re
late.” Lawyers seem very pleased with the way Judge Garber
usually takes the bench on time. In fact, two of them said,
“He’s very punctual.”
On Trial
Only one interviewee said he definitely believes Judge
Garber listens closely to lawyers’ arguments and keeps an
open mind. All of the others opined, “It’s hard to say [if he
does this],” “Judge Garber appears to listen closely but I’m
not sure he usually keeps an open mind. Maybe sometimes,”
“He listens closely but once he’s made his mind up, it’s
hard to change it” and “Judge Garber listens closely but he
doesn’t always keep an open mind.” Most of the interviewees
described this jurist’s courtroom atmosphere as “profession-
al.” However, two others said, “It’s comfortable.” Several liti-
gators said Judge Garber tends to move matters “faster” or “a
little faster” than his peers. However, two of them added, “But
you have enough time to present your case” and “It’s a good
pace.” Two other lawyers said, “[Judge Garber moves cases
at an] appropriate” pace and “He’s very thorough and moves
cases at a very efficient pace.” The only two attorneys who felt
qualified to evaluate Judge Garber’s interactions with jurors
provided somewhat different comments. One of them said
he usually interacts well with jurors. The other one basically
agreed, then added, “[he gets along well with them] unless
they’re even a few minutes late getting back from lunch.”
Only one interviewee said Judge Garber handles his sentenc-
ing duties in a “fair” manner. Two others said, “He’s tough.”
One opined, “If you go to trial and Judge Garber doesn’t think
you should have, he’ll come down hard.”
Continuances
Only two interviewees said they are pleased with how
Judge Garber responds to requests for continuances once
good cause has been demonstrated. They said, “He’s reason-
able” and “You’ve got an average chance of getting him to
grant one.” Two others said they think he’s probably “less
likely” to grant one than his peers. One final attorney opined,
“He’s unpredictable” when it comes to granting continu-
ances.
Settlement
Some interviewees said Judge Garber is proactive and has
“average” negotiating skills. Two other attorneys also said
he’s proactive and described his negotiating skills as “aver-
age to above average” and “good.” One final litigator offered
a different perspective when he said Judge Garber usually
“stays reserved” in this area.
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