Judicial watchdog orders removal of LA judge over misconduct

The Commission on Judicial Performance has ordered that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert S. Draper be removed from office.

In its decision announced Tuesday, the commission found Draper committed nine acts of willful misconduct and eight acts of prejudicial misconduct involving racial and gender-related comments, improper communications, and failure to cooperate with investigators.

The removal becomes final in 30 days unless reviewed by the California Supreme Court.

"It is wrong and we intend to file a petition for review with the California Supreme Court, as we are entitled to do, in which the California Supreme Court, for the first time, will look at the actual facts and not simply the characterization of those facts by the Examiners," Draper said when reached by email.

The decision follows an Oct. 7 hearing in which Draper defended himself before commissioners, with help from Paige L. Adamczyk of Adamczyk Legal PC of Oxnard. During that hearing, he repeatedly made comments about gender and race like the statements that got him in trouble and expressed bewilderment at some of the claims against him.

"Judge Draper's misconduct reflected either a concerning lack of familiarity with ethical precepts, or an unwillingness to conform to those precepts," the commission said in its announcement.

It continued, "Judge Draper's misconduct was aggravated by his refusal to accept responsibility for his misconduct, and his lack of insight or remorse for his misconduct and its effect on others. There were also instances where Judge Draper engaged in a lack of candor during his testimony during the proceedings, further aggravating his misconduct."

During his hearing, Draper repeatedly objected to claims that he was sexist or racist. The 84-year-old's comments also showed he and commission trial counsel Mark A. Lizarraga may have different understandings of what constitutes racism and sexism.

Lizarraga began with a litany of Draper's statements from the bench or in discussions with attorneys, including repeated references to "miscegenation" and race mixing. His descriptions of attorneys included the terms "very Black," "way Black" and "charcoal Black." He said Draper also frequently commented on the attractiveness of women in his courtroom and told attorneys stories about law firm secretaries sleeping with attorneys.

Draper then used similar language in his response. He described one attorney whose declaration was cited by the commission as an "African American young woman" and later as a "beautiful young woman." When pressed, he said he used descriptions of people's race, gender, and perceived attractiveness "because they describe who they are."

"He's been essentially unremorseful during these entire proceedings," Lizarraga told the commission. "He has failed to appreciate the impropriety of his conduct."

Draper questioned why the case against him continued even though he had lost his reelection campaign and would soon be off the bench. Deputy District Attorney Tal Khan Valbuena won Draper's seat with 57% of the vote in the June primary election.

"I've been honored to be a judge," Draper told the commission. "I've worked my kabunza off. I think I'm highly respected, but once the CJP gets on you, nobody else wants to talk to you."

He added, "Everything became like a whirlwind of a bad dream."