The Supreme Court today denied superior court Judge Tony Mallery’s petition for review that sought to overturn a Commission on Judicial Performance order removing Mallery from office.
The Commission’s 114-page decision states the allegations against Mallery, who didn’t run for reelection this year, were, “discouraging court staff from cooperating with the commission and retaliating against those who did; false representations to the commission; usurping the role of prosecutors and attempting to eliminate plea bargaining in criminal cases; making judicial decisions based on improper considerations; improperly denying peremptory challenges and retaliating against attorneys who filed them; making comments to other judges that might interfere with a fair hearing; engaging in speech and conduct that could be perceived as biased; poor demeanor toward court staff; making disparaging remarks about a fellow judge and court staff; and failing to disclose or disqualify when required.”
[December 12 update: The petition for review stated this issue, “Does the use of nonpublic Superior Court records during Formal Proceedings before the Commission on Judicial Performance (‘Commission’), which by Staff Attorneys requested and received outside of the process stated in Government Code § 68576, violate the law, and if so, what is the remedy?” It said Mallery was “not ask[ing] th[e] Court to overrule the Commission’s findings and conclusions,” but rather “to rule that the Staff Attorneys violated the law, and to determine the appropriate remedy,” which the petition claims would have been “vacating the discipline and dismissing formal proceedings.”]
Related: