Judicial Profile: Department 14
Honorable John H. Sugiyama
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- Biographical Information
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- Date of Birth:
- January 30, 1950
- Place of Birth:
- U.S. Military Hospital in Maizuru, Japan
- Education:
- Undergrad: UCB, B.A. in Political Science, 1972;
Law school: UCB, Boalt Hall, J.D., 1975 - Pre-bench Legal Experience:
- California Department of Justice
- Political Affiliation:
- Democrat
- Judicial Experience
- None prior to appointment.
- Pre-bench Civic & Professional Activities
- Many and Varied.
- Current Civic & Professional Activities
- Many and Varied.
- Continuing Legal Education Faculty
- No assignments to date.
- Important Published Decision(s)
- He began working for the California Department of Justice in August 1975. The first appellate case that he handled was decided and published in October 1975 (reported in 51 Cal.App.3d). The first case that he argued in the California Supreme Court was in December 1976 (reported in 19 Cal.3d). During his career as an advocate, he handled numerous significant cases, close to a hundred of which were published in the official California and Federal Reports.
- Courtroom Policies
- He asks attorneys to be courteous and respectful towards each other.
- Teleconferencing
- The Court is supportive of teleconferencing. The Court is also aware, however, of the hardware limitations from courthouse to courthouse.
- Motions
- The Court follows the local rules and established motion practice.
- Briefs
- The Court perceives that they are definitely helpful.
- Discovery
- The Court follows the local rules and established discovery practice.
- Settlement Conferences
The Court follows the fast track rules. The Court is mindful of the constraints imposed on counsel in limited jurisdiction cases, so the Court seeks to assist attorneys in limiting expenses and costs.
Parties should come with appropriate settlement authority and be prepared to try to settle the matter in a reasonable way.
- ADR
- The Court agrees that ADR is an extremely useful tool.
- In Limine Motions
- The Court follows basic practice in responding to in limine motions.
- Voir Dire
- Criminal: The Court will conduct most of the voir dire. The Court puts 18 in the box and questions the group both individually and collectively. The Court then allows for attorney participation. The Court controls the amount of time each side has to ask questions.
- Jury Instructions
- Submit them the first day of trial. The Court reviews them with counsel before closing arguments.
- Witnesses
- The Court allows attorneys to try their cases, and expects the attorneys to courteous and respectful to each other and to the witnesses.
- Sanctions
- The Court has found it seldom necessary to sanction any party. The Court sends out classic orders for FTAs per fast track.
- Documents
- The court follows the local rules and established practice.
- Decorum
- Parties to be courteous and respectful. The Court will allow parties to argue and try their case the way they want to, within traditional limits. The Court is very accommodating to attorney styles and preferences. The Court’s philosophy is not to be rigid about any of this and let the attorneys try their cases.
- Court Reporters & Translators
- Standard practice.
- Computers in the Courtroom
- No objection.
- Audio-visual
- No objection.
- Cameras in the Courtroom
- The Court follows the local rules and established practice on a case by case basis.
- Advice
- The Court has none to give, but will accept all advice people may wish to give.
