California Commission on Judicial Performance's decision and order removing Judge John Laettner.

The Commission on Judicial Performance has voted to oust Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge John Laettner from office for "a significant amount of misconduct," including "a pattern" of inappropriate behavior toward women.

Laettner, a 13-year veteran of the bench, was accused last year of nine counts of misconduct, including 28 allegations of wrongdoing ranging from making inappropriate comments about women's appearances and demeanors to revoking a defendant's own recognizance release without giving him or his attorney a chance to be heard.

"Much of Judge Laettner's misconduct reflects a pattern of engaging with attorneys appearing before him in a manner that is governed by his emotions, rather than by the California Code of Judicial Ethics," the commission wrote in a 76-page order. "His desire to have certain attorneys like him and not be upset or 'mad at him' about his rulings, and action he has taken when he was angry or upset with them, has, at times, overridden his compliance with the canons of judicial ethics."

The commission's removal order becomes final in 30 days, giving Laettner an opportunity to petition the California Supreme Court for review. Laettner's attorney, James Murphy of Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney, was not immediately reached for comment. Laettner had disputed the allegations against him.

A Contra Costa County Superior Court spokesman issued a statement Wednesday saying "the court respects the decision of the Commission on Judicial Performance. Judge Laettner has been removed from our bench pending the outcome of any appeal to the California Supreme Court."

The commission's vote to remove Laettner from office was not unanimous. Three of the 11 commissioners—Justice William Dato of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench and public members Richard Simpson—would have chosen to publicly censure Laettner.

If Laettner's removal order stands, he will be the second Contra Costa judge barred from office in the last 15 months. In August 2018, the commission censured retired Judge Bruce Clayton Mills and ordered that he never hold judicial office in California again. Mills had been reprimanded by commissioners five times over a 17-year period.

After the initial charges were announced, Laettner's attorney said the complaints, many of which involve deputy public defenders, stemmed from a dispute between the judge and the public defender's office over the use of cash bail.

The commissioners said Laettner "had an exemplary work ethic" and has been "a responsible, conscientious judge, and an asset to his court." If only his misconduct was considered, the commission continued, "we would impose a censure."

"But given our mandate to uphold high standards of judicial conduct, protect the public, and preserve the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, it is Judge Laettner's lack of candor during this proceeding, and his selective and limited acknowledgment of his misconduct, that leads us to conclude that removal from the bench is the appropriate discipline."

Four of the nine counts against Laettner stemmed from comments the judge allegedly made to women in his courtroom about their physical appearance, their tattoos and their ethnicity.

"You often told other female defendants charged with driving under the influence that they were pretty, and that they should not drink and drive or they might get scars," according to the commission's initial charging report. In 2017, Laettner allegedly told a deputy public defender who is part Japanese-American that he "knew some 'very beautiful half-Japanese twins in college,' or words to that effect. [He] also asked her intrusive questions about her racial ancestry, background and upbringing," the commission alleged.

The commission also found that Laettner made repeated, unwelcome comments about his court reporter, calling her "so pretty" and "hot" and telling jurors they would "enjoy looking at her." Laettner said he may have publicly referred to the reporter as "his lovely court reporter" but denied every saying they would enjoy looking at her. The reporter testified that she transferred out of Laettner's courtroom in 2017 because she "could not take the years of unwelcome and inappropriate comments toward [herself] and others," the commission wrote.

Laettner, a former Tulare County prosecutor, served as an assistant U.S. attorney in California's Northern District between 1989 and 2006. He was then appointed to the Contra Costa bench by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Read the Commission on Judicial Performance's order:

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