State removes L.A. judge after 17 misconduct findings

The state Commission on Judicial Performance removed Robert Draper from the Los Angeles County Superior Court bench on Tuesday. The disciplinary body upheld 17 findings of misconduct against the 84-year-old judge. This action concludes a years-long process that began with formal complaints in 2022.

The commission cited persistent violations of judicial standards in its ruling. A statement released Tuesday said Draper’s behavior reflected a lack of familiarity with ethical rules or an unwillingness to follow them. The panel described the misconduct as extensive and severe. This removal is rare, as the commission has only ordered the removal of 14 judges across California since 2002.

Allegations against Draper included sexual harassment, racist remarks, and mistreatment of colleagues. Court records and testimony from a six-day hearing earlier this year detailed specific incidents. One account described Draper stroking a female lawyer’s hair during a 2022 hearing. He also launched into a discussion of Black history and the Black Lives Matter movement with a Black attorney, despite the case having no connection to those topics.

Colleagues raised concerns about Draper’s mental and physical health as early as 2022. In letters to the commission, senior judges described abusive emails that contained racist and abusive language. Then-Presiding Justice Samantha Jessner stated that Draper was unable to carry out the duties of a judge due to deteriorating health. Judge Eric Taylor wrote that Draper had demonstrated a flagging handle on reality.

Draper was barred from hearing cases in 2023. He was reassigned to a department at the Santa Monica Courthouse that colleagues described as a closet. Staff at that location told a reporter earlier this year that Draper almost never came in. The reassignment marked a sharp decline for a judge once considered a legal lion in the county.

Draper contested the charges in an interview earlier this year, where he compared the commission to the Russian Mafia. He denied wrongdoing and claimed the charges were political payback for opposing another judge’s bid to become presiding justice. In an email sent Tuesday, Draper called the ruling wrong and said he plans to seek review from the California Supreme Court. He argued the court would look at the actual facts rather than the characterizations presented by the examiners.

Draper lost his bid for re-election in June to Tal K. Valbuena, a former L.A. County Deputy District Attorney. Valbuena won by nearly 13 points. The L.A. County Bar Association had rated Draper as unqualified for service. A political action committee run by fellow judges gave $72,500 to Draper’s campaign, according to state election finance records. The PAC did not respond to previous inquiries.

The removal order follows a period where judicial elections in Los Angeles saw unusual conflict. Candidates faced claims of unfitness, and questions arose about how sitting judges protected their own. A fellow judge, speaking anonymously because judges are generally not allowed to speak to the press, called the end of Draper’s career a super sad situation. That judge suggested the outcome might push California to consider a mandatory retirement age, a rule most other states have.