Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

A lot of lawyers have told me (while waiting outside the courtrooms, waiting for the courtrooms to open) that Los Angeles Superior Court Judges and Orange County Superior Court Judges have had a long standing "DEAL" where they agreed that the LA Judges will be mean to litigants from Orange County, while Orange County Superior Court judges will be "very nice" to their local litigants.,,,They do this as a deterrent to OC litigants from filing in LA, because many litigants from Orange County file cases in Los Angeles, because Jurors in LA are very liberal and have a reputation for awarding higher jury awards (in the Punitive Damages section), while Orange County is known as the most conservative county in California, that OC jurors hardly award Punitive Damages, and when they do award, its sometimes a jokingly $1 (one-dollar) punitive damages award.,,,,Is this "DEAL" between the LA Judges and OC Judges illegal/improper? ,,,,Couldn't this be solved by allowing OC Litigants pick jurors from a Los Angeles pool of jurors, since the Rules of the Court, and the CCP are identical to both Los Angeles and Orange County, and the Local Court Rules are almost the same for both neighboring counties?

Asked on 10/05/14, 2:01 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Phillip D. Wheeler, Esq. Phillip D. Wheeler, Attorney At Law

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Greetings! Unfortunately, this is more of a political issue (if what you are saying is true). I don't think any lawyer can make changes to how different courts operate and what their policies are. I hope somebody else on here has something better to tell you.

Sincerely,

Answered on 10/05/14, 2:05 pm

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