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• Author: Mark Thompson/Elizabeth Smith
• Pages: 954-955

Retired Judges

944Janavs California Judge Reviews

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JANAVS, Dzintra Ileana

Temperament/Demeanor

Judge Janavs is popular with some attorneys, but oth-

ers have found her to be difficult and dictatorial. “Some like

her and some don’t.” “She is courteous.” “She is the right

woman. No problems.” “She is very patient.” “She can be

rude.” While some attorneys report that she can be cordial

and courteous, others say the opposite, depending perhaps

on how an attorney likes to see a courtroom run. Moreover,

it seems the atmosphere in her court is the result of her

being somewhat moody. “She is unpredictable.” “She is rude

or pleasant. You never know what to expect.” “She’s terrible.

Stay away.” “She is difficult to deal with. She has a lousy

personality.” She rules her courtroom with an iron hand,

and one attorney experienced her as being self-indulgent,

but she is credited with having her reasons. “She is a little

dictator.” “She likes to hear herself talk.” “If my assessment

is correct, she can make mincemeat out of people. They may

have gotten more than they deserved, but the legal basis

is judicially sound.” Most lawyers did caution that Judge

Janavs does not take criticism well. “She speaks with a

heavy accent, but you can’t let her know that.” “She doesn’t

like to be corrected.”

Intelligence/Knowledge

Judge Janavs is not reported to be the brightest star on

the bench, and she did not garner high praise regarding

her intelligence or legal knowledge. “Reasonably smart.”

“Average as far as her knowledge of the law.” “She knows the

law.” “She goes by the book.”

On Motions

She is punctual when commencing her court day and

she expects counsel to also be on time. “She starts on time.”

“Don’t be late in this court.” Her decision-making process is

reported to take place after reading the file, and she is not

known for changing her mind upon hearing oral argument.

“Her decisions are inflexible.” “Though she is really strict on

rules, she is very good.” “She has odd rulings, though she

tries to be fair.” “I got her to impose sanctions on the other

side. It was a discovery sanction. She went the full $1500.00.”

On Trial

Judge Janavs received overall sub-par ratings as a trial

judge. Most attorneys expressed dismay at the rapid pace

in which she runs her court, saying that they believe she

pushes her trials along a little too quickly. “She runs the

case like a dictator.” “She is okay for trial.” “She is not good

for trial.” “Stay away.” “She is terrible.” “I had no problem

trying my case in front of her.” “I’d take her for trial.” Judge

Janavs was not given outstanding marks for voir dire, with

attorneys noting that they did believe she allows sufficient

time for it to be done properly. “She is not very good on voir

dire.” “She is fair with voir dire.” “She limits voir dire.”

Settlement

This jurist is not considered to be in the top percentiles

of skill or effort with the settlement process. When asked

about settlements in this court, lawyers had the following

comments, “She is poor on settlement.” “She is not good with

settlements because she goes too fast.” One attorney, though,

had a positive experience, “I was able to settle the case.”

Continuances

Because Judge Janavs seems to be considered inflexible

and unbending in general, attorneys were of the opinion that

she would not permit continuances. “She will not continue

the case.” “She will not allow continuances.” However, one

attorney commented, “I asked for more time. She gave me

more time based on legal principles. I wasn’t arguing with

her. I got fair treatment.”

Proclivities

Attorneys polled did compliment this jurist on her lack of

sympathies toward any party or group, and consider her to

be completely fair, with no known bias. “I don’t know if she

has any.” “She is unbiased.” “She has no known bias.” “She

is very fair.” “She was no problem.” “She treats everybody the

same. She’s terrible.” “She was fair.”

Summary

Be flexible and easygoing here. Do not, under any cir-

cumstances, be late to this court. If you have a heavy trial

calendar, you like a fast pace, or you have a simple matter

which can be attended to quickly, this is your court. (01Z)

JOHNSON, Jerry Eldred

Temperament/Demeanor

Judge Johnson “is a nice guy. He gets along well with

everybody,” one interviewee said. Indeed, all other interview-

ees voiced the same sentiment. “I like him,” said a second

interviewee. A third, who like the first two interviewees, is

a criminal defense lawyer, said, “I like him. I think he’s a

pretty decent guy.” A former prosecutor who is now a crimi-

nal defense attorney agreed. “He is a really nice guy,” the

interviewee said.

Intelligence/Knowledge

Attorneys interviewed about Judge Johnson focused their

comments on his personal qualities, most notably his empa-

thy for defendants, rather than his legal scholarship, but

one criminal defense attorney called him “very intelligent.” A

prosecutor, however, discounted his knowledge of law. “He

is not in the same league” as some of the better judges. “He

is worlds apart. He is not exceptionally knowledgeable on the

law,” the prosecutor said.

On Motions

Judge Johnson is “reasonable” and he “will listen” to

arguments in hearings on motions, one interviewee said.

However, is patience is far from inexhaustible. “As long as

you’re not wasting too much of his time, you can put on

evidence,” said another interviewee, who like the first is a

criminal defense attorney. “But he will be a little pushy on

evidence. He likes to keep things moving.” An attorney who

has litigated matters before Judge Johnson, first as a pros-

ecutor and more recently as a defense attorney, and finds

him far preferable now than then, added, “When it comes

to legal analysis of the evidence, I think he’s very good.” The

prosecutor who commented on Judge Johnson disagreed,

asserting, “His rulings are not that great.”

On Trial

Judge Johnson is “fine on the bench,” said one inter-

viewee who has tried cases in his court. The former prosecu-

tor said Judge Johnson tries very hard to get cases resolved

short of trial, whether prosecutors really want the deal he is

pushing or not. “He loves to settle cases. He does not want to

be in trial,” the interviewee said. “But once you get to trial, I

think he’s outstanding.” The prosecutor who commented on

Judge Johnson, retorted, “Outstanding and Jerry Johnson

have never met. I don’t think anybody giving a fair assess-

ment of him would say he is outstanding in any part of the

job. He does not have exceptionally good work habits. He

does not like to be in trial and will try and dispo cases so

that he won’t end up in trial. He has been a judge for a long

time. But the only reason he’s a superior court judge is that

all of the municipal court judges got elevated. Other than

that, he never would have made it to the superior court, in

my estimation.”

Continuances

None of the criminal defense attorneys interviewed about

Judge Johnson had any complaints about his policy on con-

tinuances. The prosecutor, however, said, “My experience

with him was that he would pretty much give defense attor-

neys what they wanted. If they wanted a continuance, they

would get a continuance. If they wanted a light plea, he would

give them a light plea. He definitely is very defense oriented.”

Settlement

Interviewees agreed that Judge Johnson puts a major

emphasis on getting cases to settle, if possible. Interviewees

had a range of opinions, however, on whether those efforts

were appropriate or not. “He definitely always asks whether

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