Legal News

First O.C. judge removed from bench appeals to state high court

By Jason Siegel

Former Orange County Superior Court Judge Kelly MacEachern is appealing her removal from the bench to the state Supreme Court, the Orange County Register reported. (here)

The Commission on Judicial Performance ruled (here) that MacEachern committed "willful misconduct" in filing false and misleading expense claims for a San Diego legal conference.

MacEachern, the first judge to be booted from the O.C. bench, wants the court to reduced the discipline or at least let her practice law in California, the O.C. Register reported.

MacEach was the fourth trial court judge to be removed in the last 20 months, but the only one of those to be removed by a divided commission, The Recorder reported.

"The lack of integrity manifested by [MacEachern's] misconduct, compounded by her lack of candor in response to the commission?s investigation and deceitful testimony under oath before the masters compels our conclusion that removal is necessary to protect the public and maintain public trust in the integrity of the judiciary," wrote the commission.

Background on the case, previously blogged:

In August 2007, the state Commission on Judicial Performance accused MacEachern of lying in order to get a $220 hotel reimbursement for a 2006 judicial conference in San Diego.

MachEachern e-mailed a county staffer after the conference that she sat in on two classes on different days and should be reimbursed for hotel expenses. Superior Court Judge Nancy Stock had her executive assistant investigate the claim and found it to be false. Stock confronted MachEachern, who admitted that she hadn't attended the classes and withdrew her reimbursement claim.

MacEachern, who was a O.C. deputy district attorney for two decades before joining the court in 2002, testified that she didn't intend to mislead or steal on an expense report in January.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on September 25, 2008 (boomark / email).