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Hon. Lawrence J. ONeill
District judge
E.D.Cal.
9th Circuit
Average Rating:
6
 -
5
rating(s)

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Rating:

*Temperament:  
*Scholarship: 
*Industriousness: 
*Ability to Handle Complex Litigation:  
*Punctuality:  
*Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation:  
*Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation: 
Flexibility In Scheduling 
General Inclination Regarding Bail
General Incl. in Criminal Cases, Pre-Trial: 
Involvement in Civil Settlement Discussions:

General Incl. in Criminal Cases, Trial:

General Incl. in Criminal Cases, Sentencing:

Typical Discount Off Guidelines for Cooperators:

  Items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating

(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
(1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
(1=Chronic`y Late,10=Always on Time)
(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
(1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)
(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
(1=Least Involved,10=Most Involved)

(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)

(1=Most Lenient,10=Most Harsh)

(1=10%,10=100%)

How familiar are you with the work of this judge?:
Participates in Oral Argument:
Quality of Questions During Oral Argument:
Attitude during oral argument:

Scholarship as reflected in Opinions:

General Inclination in Criminal Appeals:

General Inclination in Civil Rights Appeals:

General Inclination in Labor Law Appeals:

General Inclination in Immigration Appeals:

(1=Not at all familiar,10=Extremely familiar)

(1=Rarely,10=Always)

(1=Poor,10=Extremely insightful)

(1=Consistently inappropriate,10=Cons. respectful)

(1=Poor,10=Outstanding)

(1=Strongly Pro­Government,10=Strongly Pro­Defense)

(1=Strongly Pro-Defendant,10=Strongly Pro­Plaintiff)

(1=Strongly Pro­Employee,10=Strongly Pro­Employer)

(1=Strongly Pro­Immigrant,10=Strongly Pro­Gov.)

Non-lawyer rating (if applicable)

(1= worst, 10=best)

Ratings:

What others have rated

Hon. Lawrence J. ONeill

evaluator

ID

date
Temp*  Sch*  Indu* Comp*   Punct*    Ev-Cv*   Ev-Cr* Flex  Bail  Crim  Settle Trial Sent Coop Average
Civil Litigation - Govt.

21566

1/2/14

1

5

5

0

0

1

0

3

0

0

0

0
0
0

3

read comment
Criminal Defense Lawyer

10084

1/2/10

9

9

10

9

10

0

7

4

8

7

0

5
5
2

9

read comment
Prosecutor

5545

1/1/08

2

1

1

1

10

0

1

8

10

10

0

10
6
0

2.7

read comment
Criminal Defense Lawyer

5170

1/1/07

4

3

9

5

9

0

2

10

0

10

0

10
0
0

5.3

read comment
Court Staff

4605

1/2/07

10

0

10

10

10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0
0
0

10

read comment
category average

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-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

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-

Items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating
Fam
Par
Qu-Arg
At-Arg
Sch
Cri
Civ
Lab
Imm
How familiar are you with the work of this judge? (1=Not at all familiar,10=Extremely familiar)
Participates in Oral Argument (1=Rarely,10=Always)
Quality of Questions During Oral Argument (1=Poor,10=Extremely insightful)
Attitude during oral argument (1=Consistently inappropriate,10=Consistently respectful)
Scholarship as reflected in Opinions (1=Poor,10=Outstanding)
General Inclination in Criminal Appeals (1=Strongly Pro­Government,10=Strongly Pro­Defense)
General Inclination in Civil Rights Appeals (1=Strongly Pro-Defendant,10=Strongly Pro­Plaintiff)
General Inclination in Labor Law Appeals (1=Strongly Pro­Employee,10=Strongly Pro­Employer)
General Inclination in Immigration Appeals (1=Strongly Pro­Immigrant,10=Strongly Pro­Gov.)
evaluator

ID

date
Fam     Par  Qu-Arg At-Arg    Sch      Cri       Civ   Lab Imm
Civil Litigation - Govt.

21566

1/2/14

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

read comment
Criminal Defense Lawyer

10084

1/2/10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

read comment
Prosecutor

5545

1/1/08

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

read comment
Criminal Defense Lawyer

5170

1/1/07

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

read comment
Court Staff

4605

1/2/07

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

read comment
category average

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Non-lawyer Rating 
(if applicable)

evaluator

ID

date
Rating
category average

-

Temp*
Sch*
Indu*
Comp*
Punct*
Ev-Cv*
Ev-Cr*
Flex
Bail
Crim
Settle
Trial
Sent
Coop
Temperament (1=Awful 10=Excellent)    
Scholarship (1=Awful 10=Excellent)    
Industriousness (1=Not at all industrious 10=Highly industrious)    
Ability to Handle Complex Litigation (1=Awful 10=Excellent)    
Punctuality (1=Chronically Late 10=Always on Time)    
Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation (1=Demonstrates Bias 10=Entirely Evenhanded)    
Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation (1=Demonstrates Bias 10=Entirely Evenhanded)    
Flexibility in Scheduling (1=Completely Inflexible    10=Very Flexible)    
General Inclination Regarding Bail (1=Pro-Defense 10=Pro-Government)    
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pre-Trial (1=Pro-Defense 10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Civil Settlement Discussions (1=Least Involved 10=Most Involved)    
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial (1=Pro-Defense 10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing (1=Pro-Defense 10=Pro-Government)
Typical Discount Off Guidelines for Cooperators (1=10% 10=100%)    
comments1
Comments:

What others have said about

Hon. Lawrence J. ONeill

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Civil Litigation - Govt.
comment #:
21566
rating:
3
average rating is 3 out of 5
average rating is 3 out of 5
This judge is petty and self-absorbed. Lifetime tenure has gone to his head. He is completely lacking in judicial temperament, and is not suitable for the bench.
1/2/14, 5:05 PM
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Criminal Defense Lawyer
comment #:
10084
rating:
9
average rating is 3 out of 5
average rating is 3 out of 5
Having appeared before him in both state court and federal court, my experience is that the better prepared you are the more credibility you will have with him. Hence, the better chance you secure for a decent result for your client. If counsel can't keep up with him, he will leave you in the dust. Too many federal defense practitioners have given up because fed'l criminal law is skewed promiscuously toward the gov't. I think J. O'Neill likes some articulate combat, and rewards defense counsel as much as he can for that.
1/2/10, 3:04 PM
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Prosecutor
comment #:
5545
rating:
2.7
average rating is 3 out of 5
average rating is 3 out of 5
It is nice to have a pro-government judge, but this one is over the top. I want convictions without sure reversals.
1/1/08, 4:58 PM
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Criminal Defense Lawyer
comment #:
5170
rating:
5.3
average rating is 3 out of 5
average rating is 3 out of 5
​
1/1/07, 5:51 AM
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Court Staff
comment #:
4605
rating:
10
average rating is 3 out of 5
average rating is 3 out of 5
​
1/2/07, 2:45 PM
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