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• Author: Mark Thompson/Elizabeth Smith
• Pages: 886-890

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YAGGY, Carol Coates

Temperament/Demeanor

Judge Yaggy is often described as even-tempered, a qual-

ity highly prized by the attorneys who appear before her.

“She’s a little more formal, but very even-tempered; she

expects a certain decorum, but she’s still approachable.”

“She’s wonderful, the best. She’s calm, decent, patient.”

“She has an outstanding courtroom demeanor. She’s formal,

thoughtful and has a strong and positive reputation.” “Very

formal and proper.” One attorney thought Judge Yaggy had

taken on an unnecessarily “cold, impersonal demeanor”

since she took the bench.

Intelligence/Knowledge

Judge Yaggy spent the first seven years of her legal career

in the San Francisco Public Defender’s office where she

rose to the position of Senior Trial Attorney and defended

misdemeanor and felony cases of all sorts. In 1987, she was

appointed as a commissioner and she continued in that role

until she was elected to a Superior Court Judgeship in 1998.

One lawyer we interviewed mentioned that “Judge Yaggy is

a newer judge.” Another said, “I’d rate her intelligence high,

but she’s inexperienced.” Another said, “I’d give her the high-

est marks” and mentioned that Judge Yaggy had a great deal

of experience as a commissioner prior to this appointment.”

“I’d give her the highest rating. She has a tremendous back-

ground, as a commissioner and from her time as a public

defender.” “She’s very bright; I’d give her high marks.” “She’s

very bright and she knows the law.”

On Motions

Attorneys who have had motions before Judge Yaggy

report that she is always prepared to give their motions a

complete hearing, having read the papers carefully. “She

reads the papers and I think her rulings generally follow the

law.” “She’s careful and really thinks things through; she

doesn’t rubber-stamp things. She will ask questions of both

sides and really listen to the answers.” “She’s prepared and

really with the program.” “Judge Yaggy is always prepared.”

“She absolutely follows the law.” “She always reads every-

thing and she stays within the law.”

On Trial

Since her appointment to the Superior Bench, Judge

Yaggy has been assigned to preliminary hearings and,

therefore, none of the attorneys we interviewed had trial

experience in her court. They did comment favorably on her

handling of preliminary hearings, though, saying, “She’s

straightforward and no nonsense” and “She’s very prepared

and with the program.”

Continuances

None of the attorneys interviewed had complaints about

how Judge Yaggy handles requests for continuances. “She’s

reasonable, but not easy. She wants a good reason. If you

come in saying you were unable to contact your client she

will be stern both with you and later with your client.” “She’s

reasonable.” One lawyer said to be sure to file formal papers.

“She might not like a fast on your feet request.” “She’s fair.”

Settlement

Several attorneys mentioned that while Judge Yaggy is

somewhat active in pre-trial negotiations, she’s not as openly

involved in the process as some other San Francisco judges.

“This may be because she’s newer.” “She does give her

opinion, but she doesn’t press either side as much as some

judges.” Others described her as more active: “She’s very

effective because she understands the cases.”

Proclivities

Judge Yaggy is considered to be evenhanded by most of the

lawyers we interviewed. “She’s fair, pretty evenhanded.” “She’s

right down the middle.” “She’s rare—she’s right down the

middle.” However, one lawyer said, “I think the thing is, she

still has a defense bias.” Another said, “She’s conservative in

her rulings which I think is due to her newness on the bench.”

Summary

We were able to observe Judge Yaggy in court. It was obvi-

ous that she had read the day’s files as carefully as any of the

lawyers present, and on at least one occasion more carefully.

This resulted in her correcting the lawyer who had not suf-

ficiently prepared for the hearing. Lawyers who have appeared

before Judge Yaggy suggest you come into the courtroom very

prepared. “She likes people who are totally prepared. She has

very high standards.” “Be reasonable. Be calm. Know what

you’re doing.” “Be prepared and come early to learn the policies

of her courtroom.” One lawyer says to expect a good courtroom

experience. “Judge Yaggy really is a joy to be before.” (01B)

YEAGER, Christopher [Whitelaw]

Temperament/Demeanor

Judge Yeager “has a very good judicial demeanor and

temperament,” one interviewee said. Another said, “He is a

nice, nice guy. I think he’s gentlemanly about everything.” A

third interviewee said, “He has tremendous judicial tempera-

ment. He is straightforward. He never raises his voice. You

couldn’t get him to raise his voice if you tried. At the end of

every sentencing, he will say, ‘Have a nice day.’”

Intelligence/Knowledge

Judge Yeager “is a very, very knowledgeable judge,” one

interviewee said. Another rated his knowledge of law as “top-

notch” and added, “He is our senior bench officer. He has

been on the bench over 20 years, so he knows what he’s

doing and is very knowledgeable.” A third interviewee said,

“He is pretty knowledgeable about the law.”

On Motions

A prosecutor commenting on how Judge Yeager handles

hearings on motions said, “He is always prepared. He defi-

nitely is prepared. And I think he bases his decisions on

the law, which is what I expect the judge to do.” A criminal

defense attorney who likes Judge Yeager in trial took excep-

tion to his rulings on motions. “When it comes to something

like a motion to suppress evidence or a motion to dismiss an

information, all things being equal, I would disqualify him

only because he bends over backwards to find for the people.

That’s his default position and I don’t care for that.” Another

defense attorney agreed, to an extent. “He will rule and he

will shut it down in favor of the prosecution every time, if he

can. But if you can push your issue long and hard enough,

you have a chance of convincing him otherwise. He is not

close-minded except in certain little areas, even if the law is

against him.” That attorney explained that in ruling on cer-

tain types of evidentiary issues, for instance involving police

conduct, “he wants to have everything in. I don’t care what

the Evidence Code says, he’ll stretch it to get it in. He is just

really, really difficult in those areas.”

On Trial

In trial, Judge Yeager “is very punctual. He is evenhand-

ed. He is great with the jury and the staff and the attorneys,

and he lets you try your case,” one criminal defense attorney

said. Another said, “In trial, he is very fair, although I have

pissed him off a couple of times when I have objected about

prosecutorial malpractice, especially in closing argument.

When the prosecutor is trying to introduce prejudicial argu-

ments and trying to bias the jury, and I have objected several

times in a row, he has called me to the bench and has almost

held me in contempt for interrupting the prosecutor’s train of

thought.” A third defense attorney said that as a trial judge,

“he’s fair and he never raises his voice. And because he used

to be a prosecutor, if the DA tries to put one over on him, he

comes down on them like a ton of bricks.” One other defense

attorney said, “He is not my favorite person to try a case in

front of, but not because he won’t let you try your case. He

does let you try your case, but he’ll restrict you as to timing

on certain things. And I have a hard time with him on evi-

dentiary issues. Not that he doesn’t know the code, because

he does. He’s alright in trial. He will pretty much let you go.

But if you pin a cop down or pin a government person down,

he will stop you. He is not going to let you annihilate him.”

876Yaggy California Judge Reviews

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