Score Sheet on Errant Judges: 1 Censured, 2 Gone

SAN FRANCISCO —  The Judicial Performance Commission publicly censured one judge, forced two judges to quit and privately admonished a half-dozen others, its 1985 annual report shows.

The nine-member commission, the state agency responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct by the state’s 1,356 judges, marked its 25th year last year.

In all, the agency received 317 complaints in 1985, a drop of 71 complaints from 1984. It opened formal investigations in 54 of those cases, compared with 62 formal investigations in 1984. Several investigations were pending at year’s end.

The commission’s only public censure involved Fresno County Superior Court Judge Robert Mardikian, who was chastised for failing to decide cases within 90 days after they were fully argued and without forfeiture of his pay as mandated by law. One judge also was publicly censured in 1984.

State law requires that judges decide cases within 90 days or give up their salary. The state Supreme Court, which must act on commission recommendations, upheld Mardikian’s censure.

Scant Details on Others

The commission gave only scant details on six judges who received private criticism last year, and no details on the judges who resigned or retired while they were under investigation.

Among the judges who were admonished after formal proceedings was one who was “vengeful” toward a defendant, another who failed to decide a completed case for nearly a year, and a third who abused a defense lawyer in such a way that the defendant did not receive a fair trial.

Sixteen other judges received less formal letters of criticism for transgressions such as commenting about a pending case, deciding cases even though one of the litigants was not in court, and favoring local lawyers over out-of-town attorneys.

The commission has publicly censured or removed 20 judges since its inception. Actions were taken for reasons ranging from senility, to using abusive and racist language in court.