Judge threatens SLO attorney John Belsher with default judgement
December 1, 2025
John Belsher on a private jet
By KAREN VELIE
A judge with the California State Bar ordered San Luis Obispo-based attorney John Belsher to file his response to disciplinary charges no later then Friday or face a default judgement.
On Oct. 24, the California State Bar filed disciplinary charges against Belsher, whose dishonest and self-serving actions damaged his clients. The notice of 12 disciplinary charges includes allegations of corruption, dishonesty, breach of fiduciary duty and moral turpitude.
The California State Bar gave Belsher 20 days to respond to the allegations. He failed to respond on time.
Instead, Belsher attempted to file his response on Monday morning, just hours before his initial status conference. A court clerk rejected Belsher’s response because the filing did not include an original hand written signature, it was not accompanied by a signed proof of service and it exceeded the State Bar’s page limit.
During the status conference on Monday afternoon, State Bar Court of California Judge Yvettee Roland extended Belsher’s time to file his answer to Dec. 5. If he fails to file by Friday, he faces a default judgement.
Judge Roland then set a six-day trial to begin on Feb. 18.
The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person. Constructive debate is good; mockery, taunting, and name calling is not. Comment Guidelines