Debra Cole-Hall

I recently did a Preliminary Hearing in front of Cole and it would be difficult for a judge to be more hostile. I have been practicing criminal defense all over Southern California since 1997 and this one experience puts her, in my mind, well into the bottom 10% as far as temperament and WAY too low in terms of legal knowledge. I read afterwards that she was a Public Defender and an Alternate PD before she was appointed to the bench in 2012 which, frankly, seems difficult to believe. On the temperament issue, she fairly rudely interrupted me on multiple occasions while simultaneously accusing me of interrupting her. Most people with a criminal background learn not to interrupt others and I would've thought she would have carried with her onto the bench. In addition, there was an extremely clear-cut legal issue that she very clearly announced on the record. Specifically, she told me that my client's charges were not "wobbler" offenses because the two charges were charges that carry EITHER (1) up to 1 year in county jail or (2) 2/3/4 years in prison. She stated that a prosecutor filing one of these charges made it where the charge could not be reduced to a misdemeanor at a Prelim...which is 100% wrong. We kind of got into an argument over it with her making a clear record that she does not understand her role. I realize that she may have been reluctant to reduce the case to a misdemeanor but, it is kind of unforgiveable that she thought that she did not have the POWER to do so. What that means is that she has, for every defendant over the last 13 years, flat out failing to do the job she is paid by the State of California to do by being unclear on a nursery school level criminal law issue. In addition to that, I believe she inappropriately (again with a fair dose of rudeness) refused to let me question the witness about whether his 4 years plus 4 years plus 7 years plus 7 years plus 11 years in prison sentences might have affected my client's reaction to the witness pulling out a small baseball bat on my client. The judge decided that I could not pursue this line of questioning with me arguing that my client (who was 43 with no criminal record) might be more appropriately charged with "brandishing" a weapon (given that my client brandished a machete AFTER the witness/victim brandished a small bat and neither party swung anything at the other) and that at most a misdemeanor version of the "assault with a deadly weapon" should be charged. Whether it was going to make the difference to her, I believe her denying me the opportunity to question on this issue was basically denying my client the right to a Preliminary Hearing. It appears from the feedback that Judge Cole isn't as hostile in front of a jury but, still, my client deserved to have a fair Prelim in front of a judge who understood the process.

Rude, impatient and seemed stressed out everytime I was in the court room with her. She was so far up the DA's rear end she stunk! She definitely "judged" the criminal in the case. It wasn't that she was having a bad day, there were multiple days she was like that!

I was a juror on a trial with Honorable Judge Debra Cole-Hall. And to be honest she was very polite and fair and firm. It was a pleasure working with her. She was the nicest judge that I have been in a courtroom with.

After reading the prior reviews I was hesitant to accept her as a trial judge. I talked with local Norwalk lawyers, who I trust, and their reports were positive. My client received a fair trial. Judge Cole was a pleasure. For the most part she stayed out of the trial. When she did interject it was because appropriate. She likes to speed things along but did not put expediency over fairness. I would do . trial with her again