The justice system in El Dorado is not typical for California (which has a reputation for leniency beyond all common sense). The District Attorney's Office, if anything, tends to err on the side of too harsh (IMHO) and they are experienced in prosecuting an extraordinarily high volume of big cases as compared to other rural counties. Judge Phimister seems to be pretty level-headed and fair (again, IMHO). We DO seem to have more than our fair share of idiot defense attornies who are prone to making stupid statements (Gellman, Tapson, Maynes, etc.). But I would not get too worried that the courts are going to do something really stupid.