Active & Former Judges – Statistics

New Complaints

In 2024, the commission considered 1,718 new complaints about active and former California judges. The 1,718 complaints named 2,095 judges (a total of 1,153 different judges).

Staff Inquiries and Preliminary Investigations

In 2024, the commission ordered 117 preliminary investigations.

Formal Proceedings

At the beginning of 2024, there was one formal proceeding pending before the commission, which remained pending.

Deferral of Investigation

The commission may defer an investigation under certain circumstances. At the beginning of 2024, 40 pending matters had been deferred. The commission ordered 31 matters deferred during 2024. Twenty-six matters were returned to the commission’s active calendar, considered, and concluded by the commission in 2024. Fourteen matters were returned to the active calendar and remained pending before the commission at the end of 2024. Thirty matters remained deferred at the end of the year.

Complaint Dispositions

The following case disposition statistics are based on cases completed by the commission in 2024, regardless of when the complaints were received. (Staff inquiries and preliminary investigations in the cases closed in 2024 may have commenced in prior years. Cases or portions of cases that were pending at the end of 2024 are not included in complaint disposition statistics for 2024.)

In 2024, the commission concluded a total of 1,715 cases. The average time period from the filing of a complaint to the disposition was 3.89 months. See chart of Complaint Dispositions for all cases completed by the commission in 2024.

Cases Closed Without Discipline

In 2024, after obtaining the information necessary to evaluate the complaints, the commission determined that there was not a sufficient showing of misconduct in 1,600 of the complaints. In other words, there was an absence of facts which, if true and not otherwise explained, might constitute misconduct. A substantial percentage alleged legal error not involving misconduct or expressed dissatisfaction with a judge’s decision. The commission closed these complaints without staff inquiry or preliminary investigation.

Following staff inquiry or preliminary investigation, the commission closed another 71 matters without discipline. In these cases, investigation showed that the allegations were unfounded or unprovable, or the judge gave an adequate explanation of the situation.

Cases Closed With Discipline

In 2024, the commission removed one judge, publicly censured two judges, and imposed six public admonishments. The commission also issued 11 private admonishments and 19 advisory letters. See Public Discipline & Decisions and Private Discipline Summaries. Discipline has been categorized according to the Types of Misconduct. A chart of the Types of Conduct Resulting in Discipline indicates the number of times specific types of misconduct resulted in discipline in 2024.

Resignations and Retirements

The Constitution authorizes the commission to continue proceedings after a judge retires or resigns and, if warranted, to impose discipline upon the former judge. When a judge resigns or retires during proceedings, the commission determines whether to continue or close the case and, if the case is closed, whether to refer the matter to another entity such as the State Bar. In 2024, the commission closed five matters without discipline when the judge resigned or retired with an investigation pending.

10-Year Summary of Commission Activity

The 10-Year Summary of Commission Activity chart provides statistics on case actions by the commission over the last 10 years.