Ralph W. Dau, LASC Dept. 57

[Underdog]

Ralph W. Dau, LASC Dept. 57 General Civil

[Trish]

Ralph W. Dau, LASC Dept. 57 General Civil
Dau is one of my favorite judges. Very old school. While he comes accross as a bit of a sourpuss, he is sharp as a tack, polite, and tries very hard to understand complicated matters. He seems to favor Witkin as his tool of quick research. Some people think he is a bit rigid with rules, but I think he uses rules to make things flow better.

He will let you argue law and motion until noon if you want. Though, once he puts his hand to his face, with his fingers supporting his head, it's time to stop. He picks his fingers when bored, he seems to have back problems and tends to get up and stretch. He talks slowly and clearly.

He has issued some beautiful written rulings. He knows evidence rules backwards and forwards, but tends to let everything in unless clearly prejudicial.

His clerk is very nice and also extremely bright and practical. His court reporter is friendly but cannot take down fast talking lawyers. She will roll her eyes and say "go ahead and talk fast, but I'm not taking it down". Amazingly attorneys don't listen to her warnings.

[Rasputin]

In a civil rights case where Ninth Circuit case law was directly on point and where that case law mandated that the defendant's demurrer be overruled, Dau sustained the demurrer without leave to amend and told the plaintiff's attorney that he could always appeal if he didn't like the ruling.

He has a VERY low rating from the LA Consumer Attorney's Association, and he has earned it. If you are a defense atty, you probably will love him . . .