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<\/p>\nOne judge claims his colleagues have adopted a \u201cgangster mentality\u201d in order to shut him up.<\/p>\n
Another compared the state board accusing him of serious misconduct to \u201cthe Russian mafia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judicial elections are usually sleepy affairs, subject to little political fanfare or interest. But two battles on the June ballot in Los Angeles have raised the temperature this campaign season and invited questions about the lengths members of the insular local bench will go to protect their own. <\/p>\n
Lawyers who aspire to become judge often run for open seats. The challengers in these races, however, say they specifically targeted incumbents they believe are unfit for the office, which carries an annual salary of more than $244,000.<\/p>\n
One of the contests could unseat 84-year-old Judge Robert Draper, who is seeking reelection despite having spent the last three years relegated to a room at the Santa Monica courthouse without a computer or caseload, which two other judges described to The Times as a \u201ccloset.\u201d <\/p>\n
In 2023, then-Presiding Justice Samantha Jessner said Draper was \u201cunable to carry out the duties and responsibilities of a judge\u201d due to deteriorating mental and physical health, according to a letter she sent to the state\u2019s Commission on Judicial Performance. <\/p>\n
Draper denied all wrongdoing in an interview with The Times, and said that although he has been diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease, he remains fit for the bench. He has also been accused of sexual harassment and making improper and biased comments by the judicial commission. He is contesting those claims. A hearing that could result in his removal began Monday and is expected to last into early May.<\/p>\n
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Deputy Dist. Atty. Paul Thompson at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The other incumbent fighting to save his seat is Judge Pat Connolly, 61, a former prosecutor who has drawn support from several other sitting L.A. County judges. But his opponent, Deputy Dist. Atty. Paul Thompson, has called Connolly a \u201crogue judge\u201d who needs to be replaced. <\/p>\n
Connolly has been disciplined multiple times in his 18-year judicial tenure for improper comments toward litigants and, in one case, exhibiting bias against a defense attorney against whom he was weighing contempt charges, according to state judicial commission records. <\/p>\n
Thompson, who gained notoriety for his role winning a rape conviction against Harvey Weinstein,<\/a> purchased the rights to the domain name \u201cpatconnolly4judge.com,\u201d which now redirects to one of the commission\u2019s admonishments of Connolly. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat I see is a man who repeatedly prioritizes his own goodwill over that of the community and the public he is serving … a man who has been repeatedly disciplined for prioritizing his own interests,\u201d said Thompson, who has been endorsed by the L.A. County Democratic Party. <\/p>\n In a bizarre turn, the race was linked to the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Assn. dinner after conservative influencers posted a picture of a Thompson campaign sign<\/a> on the Torrance lawn of the suspected gunman, Cole Tomas Allen. <\/p>\n Thompson lives next door to the Allen family and described the suspect\u2019s parents as great neighbors. He said he didn\u2019t know their son and dismissed \u201cinternet trolls\u201d for trying to tie his campaign to political violence.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s election has sparked conversations about the unwavering support incumbent judges seem to enjoy among their colleagues. <\/p>\n Despite the concerns about Draper\u2019s health, a political action committee run by fellow judges gave $72,500 to his campaign, state election finance records show. The PAC gave the same amount to Connolly.<\/p>\n Judge Maria Lucy Armendariz, who oversees the PAC, did not return a call seeking comment. <\/p>\n \u201cThe PAC has some explaining to do here. Why is there this show of support for someone who is facing so many challenges?\u201d asked Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches at Loyola Law School. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t reflect well on the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n Deputy Dist. Atty. Tal Khan Valbuena at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.<\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Draper\u2019s opponent is Deputy Dist. Atty. Tal Khan Valbuena, a refugee from Pakistan who works in the Hollywood mental health court. Khan Valbuena believes his lived experience as a gay Muslim who has faced bigotry will bring a compassionate perspective to a bench some complain is overrun with old-school tough-on-crime prosecutors. <\/p>\n But he also expressed concern about Draper\u2019s mental decline after meeting him for lunch earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cHis honor had exemplified disorganized thought behavior, tangential thought … things I see on a day-to-day basis [in mental health court],\u201d Khan Valbuena said, while acknowledging that he is not a doctor. <\/p>\n The Los Angeles County Bar Assn. issued its ratings for every judicial candidate last week. Connolly graded best among the judges in the contentious races, described as \u201cwell qualified.\u201d Thompson and Khan Valubena were rated as \u201cqualified.\u201d Draper was one of only three candidates labeled \u201cunqualified.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2022, Judge Eric Taylor said he noticed a sharp change in Draper\u2019s behavior that included sending \u201cabusive\u201d and \u201cincoherent\u201d e-mails to colleagues that contained racist and profane language, according to a letter Taylor sent to the state judicial commission. <\/p>\n \u201cHe has demonstrated a flagging handle on reality,\u201d Taylor wrote. <\/p>\n Draper was accused of sexual harassment, making racist remarks and callous behavior all over the course of one hearing. According to the state judicial complaint and testimony at Draper\u2019s removal hearing on Monday, the judge allegedly stroked a female lawyer\u2019s hair after going on a tangent to a Black attorney about \u201cBlack history, Black football players, the Civil Rights Act, and the Black Lives Matter movement,\u201d even though the case had nothing to do with those issues. <\/p>\n Judge Robert Draper outside the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n (Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Later in chambers that same day, he made crude remarks to a group of female attorneys while reflecting on his time as a civil attorney, recalling how male lawyers would deride female secretaries, insisting they learn to \u201cf\u2014 better than they could type,\u201d according to testimony given by attorney Janice Brown at Draper\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n Brown told the review panel that Draper\u2019s behavior left her \u201caghast\u201d and \u201cperplexed.\u201d<\/p>\n Draper denied much of what was in the complaint. He says that he never touched a lawyer\u2019s hair, and that the comments about Black culture were meant to express his pride at racial progress in America. He criticized the Commission on Judicial Performance.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is like the Russian mafia, it\u2019s like Germany,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no due process for any judge.\u201d<\/p>\n Draper\u2019s attorney, Ashley Posner, said his client would routinely walk up seven flights of stairs when he was assigned to the downtown Stanley Mosk courthouse and remains sharp.<\/p>\n \u201cThings were set up to portray him in the worst light possible \u2026 he\u2019s been portrayed as a bigot. He\u2019s been portrayed as doddering and demented, which couldn\u2019t be further from the truth,\u201d Posner said.<\/p>\n In court on Monday, Posner suggested the complaint was part of a broader campaign to force Draper to retire and accused the L.A. County Superior Court\u2019s leadership of ageism. A court spokesperson said they could not comment on personnel matters.<\/p>\n The race between Connolly and Thompson has also focused heavily on alleged misconduct. <\/p>\n Connolly\u2019s past admonishments by the state commission include complaints that he yelled at attorneys for appearing remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The judge also told a recently acquitted defendant that he knew the man was guilty, records show.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s as much what I\u2019ve said as how I have said it. I think that they have taken issue with the terms that I\u2019ve used,\u201d Connolly said, noting he has never been accused of ethical violations or moral impropriety.<\/p>\n L.A. County Superior Court Judge Pat Connolly at the Compton Courthouse.<\/p>\n (Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n![\"L.A.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777463288_431_.jpeg\")
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