Does a judge who presided over the motion for a new trial have any authority to reverse the decision?

This rule applies even if the judge who presided over the motion for a new trial is not the trial judge. In Perry v. Fowler (1951) 102 Cal.App.2d 808, 812, the court noted the "long established rule in this state that a trial judge will not be reversed in his ruling on a motion for a new trial, unless it is affirmatively shown or manifestly appears that he has abused the sound discretion confided to him. [] Where a trial judge's ruling on a motion for a new trial is made, as here, after a prior trial before a different judge and jury it would seem that generally speaking the same basic rule must be applied."