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The Commission on Judicial Performance has admonished an Inyo County judge for signing salary affidavits indicating he was up to date on his casework when he was not.

The admonishment marks the third time in the last 13 years that the commission has warned Superior Court Judge Brian Lamb about failing to meet timelines for disposing of cases. He received an advisory letter in 2006 and a private admonishment in 2015.

“The commission recognizes that Judge Lamb is a hard-working judge, but it did not consider his assertions about his workload or his apologies mitigating in this matter because he has been previously disciplined twice for similar misconduct,” the commission wrote in a disciplinary decision released Tuesday.

State law requires judges, before they are paid, to attest that they don't have any cases pending before them that were submitted for decision more than 90 days prior. The commission said Lamb signed two false salary affidavits in 2017 indicating he was caught up with his work.

Lamb's attorney, Klinedinst partner Daniel Agle, said in an email that the judge accepts the commission's findings “and will continue to do his very best to adhere to the judicial canons and to comport himself in a manner that supports public confidence in the judiciary.”

“Judge Lamb is committed to addressing his judicial caseload in a manner that assures the prompt and correct decision of his cases, as required by law,” Agle said.

Lamb waited more than 14 months to issue a final dissolution in a divorce case from the time the parties filed their last objections in the case, according to the commission. The judge told commissioners he had “lost track” of the matter.

In another divorce case, Lamb delayed issuing a final decision for more than a year. The commission said Lamb issued a tentative ruling in the case in August 2016 and closed pleadings four months later. In March 2017, the petitioner filed a motion asking for a final decision, describing “the negative impact of the delay.” Lamb held a hearing on the petition in June 2017 and issued a final order in September 2017.

Lamb was 63 days late issuing an order in a third divorce case even though a court operations manager and the presiding judges sent him three reminders to close the case on time, the commission said.

All eight commissioners who participated in the case voted to publicly admonish Lamb.