Opinion ID: 1172050
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Merkle Matter.

Text: (13) Madeleine Merkle was charged with various misdemeanor drug violations. Judge Ryan ordered her into the drug diversion program. Later, the probation department sought to have Merkle removed from the program, alleging that she was not complying with program rules. The probation department sought to have criminal proceedings reinstituted. Merkle was called into the judge's chambers to discuss the matter. A deputy district attorney, a deputy public defender and the judge's clerk were also present. During the conversation, Merkle, who was wearing a low-cut sweater, bent over several times to remove documents from her purse. Thereafter the judge dismissed all criminal charges against her. When his clerk asked why the charges had been dropped, Judge Ryan replied, she showed me her boobs. Judge Ryan is charged with issuing his order to dismiss Merkle's criminal charges for improper personal reasons. The judge contends that his comment was only a joke and that his decision was based on the documents Merkle removed from her purse, which showed that she had successfully completed the drug diversion program. The masters determined that the charge against Judge Ryan was not proven. However, the Commission disagreed, concluding that the charge was proven and that Judge Ryan's conduct was prejudicial. Although there is much to find wrong with Judge Ryan's joke, we nevertheless cannot exceed the scope of the formal charge brought against him. ( Wenger, supra, 29 Cal.3d at pp. 638-639; Cannon, supra, 14 Cal.3d at p. 696.) We conclude that although Judge Ryan's comment was in very poor taste, the charge that he based his order on improper personal reasons has not been proven by clear and convincing evidence. While inferences may be drawn from the record that the documents presented by Merkle did not justify the judge's order, [8] we nevertheless agree with the masters that the testimony is evenly balanced on the question. The witnesses present at the hearing testified that Merkle gave the judge documents that she said proved her completion of the diversion program. Those documents were not placed into evidence. Thus, we cannot find clear and convincing proof that the documents submitted by Merkle did not provide an adequate basis for Judge Ryan's ruling. We defer to the masters' findings of fact and dismiss the charge.