Six State Judges Disciplined In 2005
The state Commission on Judicial Performance has the power to discipline California judges. That discipline can be as slight as private admonishment and as serious as removal from the bench. Last year, the Commission exercised its power publicly in six cases for conduct ranging from fixing traffic tickets for friends and sports celebrities to the inappropriate entering of pleas on behalf of defendants. In addition, several other judges were privately admonished for minor transgressions.
Judge Kevin Ross of Los Angeles was removed after the Commission found he had engaged in numerous examples of misconduct and labeled him “fundamentally unsuited to be a judge”. Among his violations included a refusal to allow a defendant to consult with an attorney before being required to enter a plea in a criminal case, the denial of a hearing before revoking a defendant’s probation, and the jailing of a woman who had truthfully claimed she was not the person named in an arrest warrant. The Commission also criticized Ross’s appearance on a pilot television show entitled “Mobile Court”, where he awarded $1,000 to the winner of a wet t-shirt contest in a strip club.
Traffic tickets were fixed by Commissioner William Danser. Danser was convicted of dismissing citations filed against players and employees of the San Jose Sharks hockey team and the San Jose Earthquakes soccer team, as well as those of personal friends and acquaintances. He retired from the bench before the Commission could take action against him, and had hoped to return to practicing law, but his license to do so has apparently been suspended by the State Bar.
Considering the large number of judicial officers in the state’s 58 counties and its appellate courts, their serious responsibilities and the potential for abuse of their authority, findings of misconduct committed by California judges are relatively rare.