Attorney observations are firsthand notes from practitioners who have appeared before a judge. They are one of the most valuable data sources on CaliforniaCourtIntel because they capture courtroom dynamics that public tentative rulings cannot reflect.
To submit an observation, open a judge profile and scroll to the Observations section. Click Add Observation. A submission form appears with a free-text field and a practice area tag selector. Write your note as you would describe the experience to a colleague — specific, factual, and focused on what would actually help someone prepare for an appearance before this judge.
Anonymization before publication. Every observation goes through an AI moderation step before appearing on the profile. The AI strips or paraphrases details that could identify a specific case, client, party, or attorney. The goal is to preserve the substantive insight about the judge's behavior while making it impossible to trace the observation to a particular matter. After moderation, you will receive an email confirming publication or explaining any edits made.
You can also submit an observation directly from your dashboard after recording a hearing outcome. When you log an outcome, a checkbox asks if you want to contribute an anonymized note as a public observation. This is optional and off by default.
Quality standards. Observations should be based on direct personal experience. Observations that contain identifying case information, speculation about a judge's personal life or motivations, or content that appears defamatory will be removed during moderation. Repeated low-quality submissions may result in observation privileges being paused.