James C. Chalfant

I've been in front of Judge Chalfant numerous times. Due to the nature of the cases he hears in the writs department, I've lost most of my cases in front of him. He gives you a fair shake; he reads the papers and relevant portions of the administrative record; he gives you a detailed tentative ruling; he will engage in lengthy oral argument and will listen. He is intelligent, hard-working, and wants to get it right. He has no ax to grind. He is a rarity.

Quite simply, one of the most intelligent and hardest working judges in Southern California. He studies the papers filed in his court, he listens carefully to the arguments of counsel, he engages respectfully with counsel to clarify various points of argument and he regularly writes very detailed tentative rulings. He cares. On a 10-point scale, Judge Chalfant rates a 12!

Win, lose or draw, you have to appreciate a judge that writes you a 50-page decision.

Lost motions a few times; won motions a few times; sat through calendars. IMO, Judge Chalfant had read all the papers and his rulings made sense. Had some busy calendars with crazy complicated facts schemes.