Complaint: Calif. Judge Left Court Too Early, Too Often
Admonished a little over a decade ago for spending too much time jogging on the courthouse stairs, among other issues, a California judge is in hot water again over his alleged work habits.
The Commission on Judicial Performance is accusing Riverside Superior Court Judge Christopher Sheldon of leaving work too early, too often, contending that he frequently departed the Indio courthouse halfway through the day, once his calendar concluded around noon, according to the Metropolitan News-Enterprise.
“Since approximately January 2006, you routinely have left the courthouse for the day after the calendar is concluded. You have not informed your superiors of your routine absences during court hours, and have not sought or received authorization for these half-day absences,” the CJP states in a notice of formal proceedings that it has served on Sheldon.
The commission alleges that Sheldon has violated ethics rules requiring judges to work diligently and promote promote public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary, the newspaper notes.
“Since 2005, Sheldon has sat in the juvenile dependency department. While the court’s calendar ends at noon, dependency judges are often needed throughout the day for unscheduled rulings on child custody matters,” reports the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
The judge was appointed to the municipal court bench in 1989 and stepped up to superior court in 1992. He was publicly admonished in 1998 for taking shortcuts in his judicial routine during a six-month period in 1995 and 1996, according to the two newspapers.
In addition to jogging on the courthouse stairs while court was in session, Sheldon also ran a misdemeanor pretrial calendar “by having the attorneys negotiate dispositions, generally involving negotiated pleas in exchange for probation, with or without jail time, and leaving it to the court clerks to stamp his name on the orders,” the MetNews writes.
Sheldon has until the end of the month to respond to the commission’s complaint. His lawyer, Reginald Vitek of San Diego, didn’t respond to a MetNews request for comment.
