Endorsements: Pro Tem Superior Court Judge
Mediation | Arbitration | Referee/Master | Pro Tem Superior Court Judge
The only attorney available for comment in the San Joaquin County case is Counsel for Plaintiff, Scott Buchanan – Larscheid Buchanan & Zeff. His assessment of the process was that “Joe Ramsey’s service . . . as a judge allowed us greater schedule flexibility, assurance of specific dates, and saved our client(s) many days of trial and thousands of dollars in fees.”
Sacramento Superior Court Case No. 01AS07705 was tried in November of 2006. Counsel for Plaintiff was George Murphy, and counsel for the Defendant was Paul Pereira, both of Sacramento. They share their assessments of the process below.
Counsel for Plaintiff, George Murphy
“I represented a rape victim in a lawsuit against her former employer whom we alleged had required her to work on his chiropractic premises at times and places as a result of which she was vulnerable to sexual assault. I sued in Superior Court because the employer had no Workers’ Compensation coverage. Defense counsel and I stipulated to use of a private judge in lieu of a jury trial. The advantage for my client was to preserve a high level of privacy in a case involving very sensitive and personal issues. The advantage for defense counsel was avoiding a jury and the potential for a passion-driven result. Advantages for both sides included having a firm trial date, a very efficient process, and a significant savings in fees and costs. Such savings resulted from not having to prepare for trial multiple times (as is the usual case), having a more efficient trial schedule, and being able to arrange for witness testimony at predictable times.
The procedure involved stipulating to use of a “temporary judge” as permitted by Article VI, § 21 of the California Constitution . . . (and) in accordance with pertinent Rules of Court. The temporary judge has all the powers of a Superior Court Judge and the ultimate judgment is fully appealable. All of the rules of procedure and evidence must be followed. Next, we had to agree to a particular attorney to serve as judge.
Opposing counsel and I quickly agreed to ask Joe Ramsey to serve as our judge. We were both familiar with Joe as one of the premier mediators/arbitrators in our area. We also knew that Joe had vast trial experience, having been an accomplished trial attorney prior to becoming a full-time mediator. Joe is known to be smart, fair, and a pleasure to work with. In this case we also discovered him to have an outstanding judicial temperament. He proved to be the perfect choice as temporary judge in our case.
The matter was tried in about one fourth the time it would have taken in a Superior Court jury trial, with a substantial savings to our respective clients. The trial took place in a large conference room with a court reporter present. Even though my client’s testimony about the rape was very emotional and difficult for her, that setting was far better than the more public courtroom environment of a normal trial.
I would recommend Joe Ramsey without hesitation to serve as a temporary judge in any type of civil case.”
Counsel for Defendant, Paul Pereira
“Although I have used Joe Ramsey successfully for years as a mediator, his most impressive performance relevant to my litigation practice occurred a couple of years ago when I was brought into a very difficult Cumis case just before it was scheduled for trial. (U)nable to obtain a courtroom after being assigned to trial, opposing counsel and I decided to try a private judge. We agreed to use Joe Ramsey . . . . The Court signed the order needed for him to serve as such and also ordered him to serve as the official Clerk, keeping track of exhibits and minutes for a Clerk’s Transcript on Appeal if appeal was requested. The trial was conducted over a period of several days and required some very sensitive rulings. The result of the trial was acceptable to all sides. There was no need to appeal or even for post-judgment motions. And, most importantly for my client, he was protected and lost no personal assets. I would definitely use Mr. Ramsey again as either a mediator or private judge and highly recommend him as an alternative to the traditional court system.”
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