Judge removed for engaging in 'extensive and severe misconduct'
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has been removed from his position for making inappropriate racial and sexual comments and several other instances of misconduct. (Photo from Shutterstock)
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has been removed from his position for making inappropriate racial and sexual comments and several other instances of misconduct.
In its decision Tuesday, the California Commission on Judicial Performance said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Draper “persistently violated the standards governing judicial behavior and engaged in extensive and severe misconduct.” The commission also said the judge failed to accept responsibility or show remorse for his actions.
Courthouse News Service has the story.
Among the charges, the commission considered Draper’s conduct during a February 2023 posttrial hearing in a sexual harassment case, where he lectured a Black attorney about Black football players and race relations in the South. It also examined comments that Draper made to female attorneys in the case—while in his chambers—about male attorneys who slept with their secretaries at his prior law firm.
Other charges alleged that Draper made inappropriate comments to a female colleague and a female court personnel, engaged in improper ex parte communications, and improperly disclosed confidential juvenile records.
Draper has said the charges “were contrary to all credible evidence and/or taken wholly out of context.”
An attorney who represented Draper didn’t respond to a request for comment from Courthouse News Service.
See also:
Judge denies allegations he made inappropriate comments during disciplinary hearing
Judge’s ‘extreme and bizarre’ comments lead to ethics investigation, reversal of $10M jury verdict
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