John McCarthy
- Department
-
11
- Served since
-
1997
- Biography
-
Pierce County website
- Ranking
-
15th of 22
(79.0% positive)
Hover over a chart to see the totals 
Criminal Law Knowledge
| Positive |
137 |
| Neutral |
69 |
| Negative |
16 |
Civil Law Knowledge
| Positive |
182 |
| Neutral |
98 |
| Negative |
19 |
Fairness
| Positive |
225 |
| Neutral |
113 |
| Negative |
50 |
Respect for Parties
| Positive |
229 |
| Neutral |
104 |
| Negative |
56 |
Respect for Attorneys
| Positive |
228 |
| Neutral |
96 |
| Negative |
66 |
Vote to re-elect?
| Positive |
335 |
| Neutral |
0 |
| Negative |
105 |
Fair and Competent?
| Positive |
360 |
| Neutral |
0 |
| Negative |
80 |
Sample Lawyer comments:
- "Knowledgeable about the law, often applies it in a result-oriented manner that isn't always consistent with the law."
- "He is a passionate person. Believes in things like truth and cares about justice. I've seen him get a little short with some lawyers. Maybe they deserved it."
- "Demeanor is terrible. Gets very irritated easily and storms off the bench at times. Very impatient and inflexible. Very disrespectful to attorneys, jurors, witnesses, police officers - doesn't matter. Holds parties to one standard but himself to another. [...]."
- "This judge is impartial. This judge understands his role. He asks questions and frames the issues in a manner that narrows the dispute."
- "Despite his arrogance and rude treatment of anyone and everyone in his courtroom, he is actually one of the better judges."
Judge's response:
"Educating the public about elected judges is a good goal. It is somewhat misleading however to suggest that surveys, relying only on lawyers who may have appeared before the judge, are true performance evaluations. They are not.
Many lawyers and litigants leave the courtroom unhappy with the result. Trials can be hotly contested adversarial proceedings.
The best evaluators of all judicial skills, except perhaps legal knowledge, are the many jurors who serve objectively daily. They observe how the judge manages the trial, including the lawyers. They observe work ethic, judicial decision-making, demeanor, efficiencies and professionalism."
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