Grant rate statistics show the percentage of a specific motion type that a judge has ruled in favor of the moving party based on available court data. Used correctly, they are one of the most powerful signals on a judge profile.
What counts as a 'grant'. For most motion types, a ruling of 'granted', 'granted in part', or 'sustained' is counted as a grant. A ruling of 'denied', 'overruled', or 'off calendar' is counted as a denial. Partial grants are noted separately in the detailed breakdown. The exact categorization logic follows each court's published tentative ruling format.
How the rate is computed. CaliforniaCourtIntel counts all rulings for a given judge and motion type in our dataset and divides grants by total rulings. The rate is displayed alongside the total ruling count — for example, '73% (n=41)' — so you can immediately see whether the sample size is meaningful.
Sample size matters. A 100% grant rate based on 3 rulings is very different from an 85% grant rate based on 150 rulings. Grant rates with fewer than 15 data points are flagged with a low-sample warning and should be treated as indicative only.
Filtering by time period. Judicial behavior evolves. Filter the ruling history by the past 12 or 24 months to see a judge's recent trend, which may differ from their all-time rate. A judge who historically denied MSJs frequently but has granted 70% in the past year represents a meaningful shift in strategy.
Comparing across motion types. The grant rate for demurrers is typically much higher than for motions for summary judgment, which is typical statewide. Use the motion type filter to make apples-to-apples comparisons between judges on the specific motion you are bringing.
Grant rates do not account for the strength of individual motions or parties. They are a population-level signal, not a case-specific prediction. Use them alongside the AI narrative and attorney observations for the fullest picture.