Retired justice faces discipline over chronic case delays at 3rd District

The Commission on Judicial Performance has initiated formal disciplinary proceedings against retired 3rd District Court of Appeal Justice William J. Murray Jr., alleging he failed to decide hundreds of appellate cases over a 10-year span--part of a long-running backlog scandal that has already reshaped the court and state law.

Murray stepped down in January 2022, on his 65th birthday. He disclosed in an email to staff that he had two strokes in 2017 but remained on the bench for more than four additional years to collect his full pension.

Murray, who wrote just 37 opinions between 2018 and 2020, was one of three justices blamed for chronic delays at the 3rd District. 

Presiding Justice Vance W. Raye retired in June 2022 under an agreement with the CJP that admonished him for a "pattern of chronic delay" in decisions going back 10 years. 

The third justice, Coleman A. Blease, also retired in 2022 amid scrutiny over the pace of his work. He died months later at the age of 93.

The scandal led to the creation of an Appellate Court Workgroup to look at "policies, procedures and case management" in the courts of appeal.  It also inspired AB 2443, a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in 2022, which made it easier for a judge to retire early because of disability without losing benefits.

Murray is represented by Randall A. Miller and Andrew J. Waxler, founding partners of Miller Waxler LLP in Los Angeles.

"Justice Murray is disappointed that after extensive settlement negotiations between when he retired in January 2022 and October 2023 and not hearing from the Commission since then, the Commission unexpectedly initiated formal proceedings," they said in a statement emailed by Miller.

The statement praised Murray's public service and legal education work on and off the bench. It noted that the CJP's notice places some responsibility on attorneys under his supervision and said Murray "looks forward to presenting his case before the special masters."

The Commission statement said that Murray had neglected issuing opinions on cases assigned to him but spent time on non-core activities such as legal education, Judicial Council tasks and community engagement.

His attorneys' statement said, "Notably, the Commission does not allege that Justice Murray was disabled or that he should have applied for disability retirement, contrary to false and defamatory statements made by others."

Murray must file his answer by June 30. If he contests the claims, his case will go before a panel of special masters appointed by the California Supreme Court.

Although Murray is retired, the commission has several disciplinary options. It could issue a private or public admonishment, deliver a public censure, bar him from taking judicial assignments, or refer the matter to the State Bar or criminal authorities. In some cases, discipline can affect a judge's pension or other retirement benefits. Former Lassen County Judge Tony R. Mallery continued fighting charges for months after not seeking re-election--at least in part, sources said, to protect his benefits.

The notice of formal proceedings cites three counts against Murray. The 40-page documents detail hundreds of delayed matters he was responsible for.

"You engaged in a neglect of duty and a pattern of chronic delay in deciding a significant number of appellate cases from April 2012 to January 2022," the first count states. Notably, the earlier date was five years before Murray's strokes. These decisions were delayed as long as eight years and included cases from as far back as 2011.

"You failed to promptly decide (or dismiss) 355 cases within at least one year after a case was either assigned to you or was fully briefed," stated the document signed by commission chair Lisa B. Lench on June 4.

The second count dealt with calendaring delays in six juvenile cases. The third covered Murray's alleged failure to "supervise your research attorneys.... Despite being dissatisfied with the work of certain attorneys, you let personnel problems persist for years."

Laurie M. Earl was confirmed as the court's new presiding justice in 2023. Speaking last month at an awards ceremony hosted by the Sacramento County Bar Association, she said the court had addressed the case backlog and produced the most opinions per justice of any appellate court in the state.

Murray and the other justices left the court following multiple complaints filed by Jon B. Eisenberg, a retired appellate attorney in Healdsburg who painstakingly documented delays on the court. Some of these delays led criminal defendants to have their sentences thrown out after they had served them and, in one tragic case, several elderly fraud victims died before they were able to recover financial restitution. Eisenberg also worked with the Daily Journal for two years to help document the delays in a series of stories.

Reached on Monday, Eisenberg said he filed his complaint about Murray so long ago that he had to look at his notes to remember when it was. "The irony is absolutely mindboggling," Eisenberg said. "Four and a half years just to open proceedings on egregious decisional delay."

But he quickly added that he was happy the commission finally brought the case. Eisenberg credited the "really good work" one of its investigators did to keep the issue alive.

"They were actually working on the case all this time," he said. "That's astounding."