Michael C Small

He is a horrendous judge. I do not know what people on here are talking about. He does not understand basic concepts of law, and his hearings never start on time. He is constantly complaining about his caseload, yet his hearings drag on for 30 to 40 minutes for no reason other than his own conduct. He continually makes off-topic references to music bands and other unrelated subjects during proceedings.

I do not know what to say about this judge. He is horrendous. I have never experienced a judge who does not understand the basic concepts of law and repeatedly ignores controlling authority and the evidence before him. Not to mention, his calendar always starts late and hearings routinely drag on until 11:30 p.m. He has never started at 8:30 a.m. on time and is consistently at least an hour behind because of his morning calendar. The courtroom is complete chaos. You cannot constantly complain about having a large volume of cases when the courtroom is being managed so inefficiently. Quite frankly, he is one of the worst judges I have encountered. Also, nobody cares about your music preferences or unrelated commentary during hearings. Just focus on the cases at hand, make the rulings, and move the proceedings along professionally.

Gina had a telephone hearing and on the phone I can hear him say why aren't you in jail did you hear about this Joey.mike small wanted Gina in jail so they Todd mike cam take all proberties wanted Gina out of the ea

Claiming the Este of Clark Garen was only worth 2 million when it was we worth billions and living trustr my deed trust Clarks mom living trust called my afgidavid death of trustee frauduant but said nothing on my recorded deed Clark went to Ruth everything but into living trust not probate not testimony trust that exicuter wrote that electronically got sworn in and he was on felony probation informal but he was still on probation that Todd a Shields surviving government officials and getting raided by the FBI and having PCC closed you can handle money and can't be on the board

This is one of the worded Judges I ever seen

Mike small had Joey Powell lawyer turn papers in saying what I recored was fraud so Joey typed up papers that were from a guy who build the house 38950 Trinidad cir palm springs ca 92649 all hus info so they Todd a shields estate of Clark garen could still our family home which was maybe still is in a Clark garen ruth garen trust primer bank has deed said Todd could not get deed wrong will wrong trust Joey's papers are nit what I recorded what I recorded was 17100 n indian caypn n palm springs ca death of trustee sub tuition of trustee is gina rickard sbd my deed were from Clark garen to ruth garen to gina rickard same as my 2124 river city Dr Laughlin deed were given the same way Todd sold houses with living redondo beach is still on living trust so under Mike watch Todd so

Every judge should sit in Judge Small's court. He is kind to everyone. He is efficient. The two are not mutually exclusive. He is humble and behaves like a public servant and a participant in the process. He actually apologizes to attorney's and litigants if he fails to move a hearing and the party's end up needing to come in to court when maybe they didn't need to. For the record he has ruled against and for my clients at one time or another, but his reasoning is clear and he allows the sides to make their arguments. Some of the recent 1 star reviews I can't think are about him given he sits in civil and has for close to a year not the probate division.

I am appalled by the egregious conduct of Judge Michael Small. This judge's five-year tenure over my family's probate case has been a nightmare marked by negligence, indifference, and a complete disregard for the well-being of my grandchildren. Now, my grandson and granddaughter are separated and my preteen grandson is no doing drugs and gangbanging. This judge told me I need to be a gang banger expert to say the guardians were grooming him! The appointed attorney, despite countless warnings about the deteriorating conditions of my grandchildren, failed to take any meaningful action to protect them. This attorney's negligence allowed for tragic events to unfold, including sending them to live where they found their Mother deceased causing night terrors for my grandson, then the overdose of a temporary guardian and the untimely death of another litigant, we warned of his violent behavior was killed in self defense. Just awful! Now my grandson is an orphan. Judge Michael Small displayed a shocking lack of empathy and a disturbing inability to handle complex legal matters. The judge's refusal to address our concerns and provide necessary support for our grandchildren has had devastating consequences. Our non-verbal granddaughter has been deprived of essential care, while our grandson has fallen victim to destructive influences. This judge's actions have inflicted immense emotional and psychological harm on our family. We have been forced to witness the decline of our grandchildren, all while the court system remains unresponsive to our pleas for help. I urge the public to be aware of this judge's incompetence and to take steps to prevent others from suffering similar injustices.

Great,

I have had several cases in front of Judge Small while he was sitting in probate. I always found Judge Small to be well read on the issues and familiar with cases as they come back into his courtroom. Judge Small is patient, knows the law and is fair in his rulings. He also does not tolerate frivolous filings and claims and does what he can to stem unnecessary litigation.

Judge Small is disrespectful to counsel and seems to enjoy flaming, embarrassing and berating attorneys in front of their clients for making respectful arguments regarding evidence and procedure. Uncalled for and unbecoming of a judge. CCP 170.6

He should not be serving as a judge. Hire a man if you want Judge Small to take you seriously. Heed my warning. He only listens to men. It's the old boys club in his courtroom. It's like he still needs the approval of the playground popular boys. HIRE A MAN TO REPRESENT YOU. That's my best advice.