SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. District Judge William Alsup has tossed a lot of curve balls at the 42 lawyers toiling away on Oracle Corp.’s giant patent suit against Google Inc. They’ll probably see a few more as the case makes its way toward a Halloween trial date.

Alsup is a demanding judge — lawyers who try to pull a “dirty trick” may find him to be their worst nightmare. And he’s quirky: He has a standing order that rewards litigants willing to send in novice lawyers to argue big-deal motions.