Opinion ID: 2604113
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Anderson Incident

Text: (11) On February 14, 1984, petitioner was assigned to hear traffic infraction cases in the South Bay Judicial District. Upon taking the bench he made some preliminary remarks and then announced to the assembled defendants that if there was a discrepancy between their version of the facts and that of a police officer, he would always believe the latter because perjury was a felony and a policeman would not jeopardize his career over such an insignificant matter. Defendant Anderson appeared in propria persona to contest a traffic citation. A police officer testified for the prosecution. During his defense, Anderson commenced reading a Vehicle Code section. Petitioner, cut him short and found him guilty, imposing a fine and penalty assessment. The appellate department of the superior court later reversed the judgment because Anderson had been denied an opportunity to cross-examine the police officer and to make a closing argument. The masters' conclusion, adopted by the Commission, was that petitioner's announcement to the assembled defendants constituted wilful misconduct, i.e., failure to conduct himself in a manner that promotes public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary. Also found to be wilful misconduct was his denial of a defendant's right to be heard by preventing him from cross-examining the witness against him and making a closing argument. We note that both aspects of the incident interfered with fundamental precepts of our judicial system. In fact, petitioner does not dispute that he was or should have been aware that such actions would be highly improper. As both a former deputy district attorney and a former deputy public defender he could scarcely have avoided being intimately familiar with the presumption of innocence and the right of an accused to cross-examine the witnesses against him. Thus the only issue is whether the second prong of the definition of malice is met. As noted above, there must be clear and convincing evidence that his purpose was malicious or corrupt. ( Gubler, supra, 37 Cal.3d at p. 59.) The Commission contends that his corrupt purpose was to coerce guilty pleas and thereby expedite the calendar. We therefore defer to its finding and conclude that petitioner was guilty of wilful misconduct.