M

• Author: Mark Thompson/Elizabeth Smith
• Pages: 966-975

Retired Judges

956Mahoney California Judge Reviews

-M-

-M-

MAHONEY, Patrick J.

FROM THE BENCH

Judge Mahoney graciously responded to written ques-

tions regarding his courtroom preferences and procedures.

When asked about his participation in attorneys’ pre-trial

negotiations, he said he generally “waits for the parties to

request assistance.” Once proceedings begin, all motions do

not need to be submitted in writing. Judge Mahoney strongly

prefers attorneys to bring a proposed Order to court indicat-

ing the specific relief they are seeking. This jurist tends to

question witnesses at least to a moderate extent and usually

conducts more than half of the voir dire proceedings. Judge

Mahoney is willing to issue tentative rulings (when appropri-

ate). Lawyers do not need to request this jurist’s permission

before approaching the bench, a witness, or exhibits. Speaking

objections are not allowed in this courtroom. Judge Mahoney

does not require trial briefs when hearing juvenile cases.

In his assignment in the law and motion department,

Judge Mahoney emphasizes that succinct briefs are far more

effective than lengthy dissertations on the law and facts of

the case. Judge Mahoney frequently will ask counsel to cite

to their most persuasive case and for compelling fact.

MAKINO, Kazuharu

Temperament/Demeanor

Judge Makino is “not terribly warm,” said one of the attor-

neys interviewed about him. “By nature, he’s reserved, which

can give the impression that he doesn’t like you. But that’s not

the case. He can be testy at times. That is his nature. But he

is very fair.” Other interviewees offered similar assessments.

“He can be mean in the comments he makes and the way he

treats people. I have never heard him yell, but he makes some

biting comments,” said another interviewee, who agreed with

the first that Judge Makino is nonetheless fair to both sides.

A third interviewee, who generally praised the judge, added,

“The only negative thing I would say about him is that he is a

very much a stickler for how you should do things. He has his

own mindset. I think that is probably because of his criminal

court background. Another interviewee said, “He’s not the

kind of guy I would go out to have a beer with, that’s for sure.

He is not an unreasonable judge, but he is extremely exact-

ing, and he does not like to be dilly dallied with.” A criminal

defense attorney who has tried two cases in Judge Makino’s

court had no complaints about his demeanor. “I never experi-

enced any of those negatives that others have spoken about,”

the attorney said. “His demeanor was just fine.”

Intelligence/Knowledge

Judge Makino “is probably one of the brightest judges on

the bench. He is very smart, very prepared and he knows the

law. He is just a really good judge,” said one interviewee. Other

interviewees agreed. “He is very, very smart. He is probably

one of the smartest judges in Orange County. He knows the

law backwards and forwards, left and right,” said one. Judge

Makino “has a substantial knowledge of legal principles” and is

particularly adept at handling cases that “are not run-of-the-

mill and that involve complex legal principles,” said another. A

fourth interviewee, who called him “really smart,” added that

in one civil suit, “the defense attorney kept trying to mislead

him as to what the relevant case law really said, but Judge

Makino knew the cases really well. He knew what the law was,

and thank God he did. It could have made a huge difference in

our case, when you have one person telling him A and another

person telling him B, if he didn’t know the law himself.” Two

other interviewees said Judge Makino is “a bright guy” and

“very learned and highly intelligent. He’s a quick study.”

On Motions

Several interviewees said Judge Makino sometimes adopts

a combative stance during oral argument in his court. “The

story about him was that when he was bored, he would create

these straw scenarios, and he would ask Socratic questions

and banter back and forth with lawyers. Sometimes lawyers

are fair game for that, but he has also done that with private

citizens who appeared before him without a lawyer. “He had a

reputation for being mocking, and playing little cat and mouse

games with you,” one interviewee said. Other interviewees,

while agreeing that Judge Makino can be “testy” with attor-

neys, praised the thoughtful manner in which he considered

motions, whether he ultimately ruled in their favor or not.

“Even when he ruled against me, it wasn’t because he didn’t

understand the issues,” one interviewee explained. “When I

would argue a certain case and say, ‘you really need to read

this case,’ he would reach over to the stack on his desk and

pull out some highlighted case and say ‘I already did.’ I was

really impressed that he had taken the time to read the cases

that were relevant to what we were doing. So he really had a

thorough understanding,” the interviewee said. “He was really

smart, and he always ended up in the right place. There was

some evidence that he did not let in that I think he should

have. And he reduced my verdict, but I understand the logic

behind why he did that.” The interviewee added, “Even though

I am appealing that ruling, I was really impressed with him

from the standpoint of understanding why he got there. I

thought he was super smart and really diligent. He did a

great job. I would absolutely keep him on any case that I got

him on.” Another interviewee praised the “politically coura-

geous decision” that Judge Makino made in a habeas corpus

proceeding. “It showed that he acted aboveboard, fairly and

impartially. He was not in fear of the repercussions of the

decision from a political standpoint. He did the right thing,”

the attorney said. Another interviewee, recalling a hearing on

a motion in Judge Makino’s court, added, “He was so fair and

aboveboard it was hard to read which way he was going to

rule.” In his years on the bench since leaving the district attor-

ney’s office, the interviewee added, “I think he has become

much more fair and impartial” in his rulings.

On Trial

An attorney who had a 9-week trial in Judge Makino’s

court shortly after he switched from a criminal court to a civil

assignment said, “It was kind of a slow start because there

were a lot of things that he didn’t know. But he was a really

quick study. The thing that was most impressive about him

is that he spent an inordinate amount of time preparing for

the case. The defense made things really difficult. They made

hundreds of objections that required a lot of research and a

lot of time. But he spent all the time that was necessary. He

did a lot of extra work on his own that he really didn’t have

to do. He prepared lots of documents for us that saved us a

lot of time. I was really impressed with that.” The interviewee

added, “One negative was that he only gave us 30 minutes to

pick the jury. I think that carried over from his criminal back-

ground.” As for his rapport with the jury, “they kind of liked

him. It wasn’t real extreme one way or the other. They didn’t

love him but they didn’t hate him.” The one interviewee who

had no complaints about Judge Makino’s demeanor said he

was competent and personable in three trials, two of which

were serious felonies tried before a jury. “He was humorous

with the attorneys and the jury. He never put me down and

I never saw him put anybody else down. I have nothing but

positive things to say about him,” the interviewee said.

Continuances

Judge Makino is “a stickler for judicial economy,” and is

therefore stingy with continuances, one interviewee said. “He

is an administrator first and foremost. He is under the gun

himself because of requirements of the governing body that

sets time limitations. So he has to be given a good reason for

a continuance. He is not one of the more liberal ones when

it comes to continuances.” A second interviewee concurred,

saying, “Oh yes, definitely, he is stingy with continuances.

He is a by-the-book kind of a guy and the case law says

that the only way you get a continuance is if you have good

cause. So even if both parties agree, even if the DA agrees

with a defense request for a continuance, the statute says

it can only be granted for good cause, and if you don’t have

CJ_Volume_2.indb 956CJ_Volume_2.indb 956 9/5/2014 12:48:17 PM9/5/2014 12:48:17 PM