The California Commission on Judicial Performance, the state body that oversees judicial complaints, conducted an investigation into complaints and charged Draper with misconduct in office. The commission\u2019s members, who are also the final decision-makers<\/a> here, won\u2019t make a determination on whether to discipline him until after the primary.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you should know about what\u2019s at stake and what could happen next.<\/p>\n A quick primer<\/p>\n Draper was appointed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012. Superior Court judges have to run for reelection after they\u2019ve been appointed. Draper is running for a third full term and is on the ballot<\/a> for all L.A. County voters under Office No. 2, facing a challenge from deputy district attorney Tal Valbuena.<\/p>\n The commission has charged him with seven counts of violating judicial ethics. (The proceedings against him aren\u2019t civil or criminal, but the commission uses similar terminology.) The commission is an 11-member group<\/a> of judges, lawyers and others who are appointed by the governor, the Legislature and the California Supreme Court.<\/p>\n Draper is currently assigned to \u201cchambers work only.\u201d He and his attorney told LAist Draper’s court-issued email account is restricted and his room does not have a computer or staff. He hasn\u2019t heard a case since he returned in June 2023<\/a> from an involuntary leave that, according to commission records<\/a>, was tied to the alleged ethics violations.<\/p>\n Among the allegations Draper is facing:<\/p>\n Sending nude photos from a confidential child abuse case to colleagues via a court email address, according to commission records<\/a>.Making irrelevant comments about race, including using the term \u201ccoal black,\u201d during a case, and calling women in the courthouse \u201cattractive\u201d and \u201ccute,\u201d according to commission records<\/a>.<\/p>\n A panel of independent \u201cspecial masters<\/a>\u201d oversaw a six-day hearing earlier this month on the charges. The special masters are expected to issue a report on their findings within the next several weeks \u2014 but a decision on possible disciplinary action still rests with the commission.<\/p>\n According to the commission\u2019s charge document<\/a>, the allegations against Draper center on willful misconduct in office, failure to perform his duties and actions that affect the judicial office\u2019s reputation. Draper has denied some of the claims<\/a> and, in an interview with LAist, gave reasons for others.<\/p>\n The commission initially claimed<\/a> that his behavior was evidence of an unnamed disability that interferes with his duties (which could<\/a> get judges removed from the bench, if proven), but LAist confirmed that claim has been withdrawn.<\/p>\n Draper told LAist he is navigating health issues. Over the last few years, he\u2019s been prescribed medication that made his Parkinson\u2019s disease worse, he said, and had a detached retina and a rotator cuff injury. He added that he\u2019s also coping with grief \u2014 his son died this year shortly before the hearing.<\/p>\n The seven counts Draper faces from the judicial ethics commission cover accusations dated 2022 and 2023. We\u2019ll explore the main ones.<\/p>\n See the documents<\/p>\n We reviewed hundreds of pages so you don\u2019t have to. If you do want to look them over, here\u2019s where you can find the documents we included in this story:<\/p>\n Comments on race<\/p>\n According to records<\/a> from the judicial performance commission, Draper admitted to making statements that have been called \u201cirrelevant\u201d and \u201cinappropriate\u201d by other judges who reviewed his decisions on a 2023 case.<\/p>\n In February that year, the defense in a sexual harassment case<\/a> Draper presided over was seeking a new trial. A jury had reached a verdict earlier, putting them on the hook for $10 million.<\/p>\n During a hearing, Draper brought up his personal views on interracial mixing and Black history, according to excerpts of the court transcripts<\/a>. Draper told LAist these comments were intended to convince the two sides to \u201cmake a reasonable settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the transcripts, Draper used the terms \u201ccoal black\u201d and \u201clight brown\u201d to describe Black skin tones. Draper defended his statements, telling LAist he viewed the comments as \u201calmost like describing what color dress you\u2019re wearing today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, why did I say it? Race was not involved in the case, except that almost everybody was Black,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The commission said<\/a> the comments at issue reflected \u201cbias, prejudice, or harassment.\u201d Draper\u2019s written response<\/a> to the charges said the dialogue had been taken \u201cwholly out of context.\u201d He told LAist he \u201c\u200awasn\u2019t talking about a bias for or against\u201d and added he \u201cprobably won\u2019t use the word \u2018black\u2019 ever\u201d again if re-elected.<\/p>\n \u201cDo I imagine I\u2019ll continue to make comments about appearance? No,\u201d he said. \u201cI probably won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Women in the workplace<\/p>\n The same day of the 2023 hearing, Draper brought the all-women legal team into his chambers, according to records<\/a>, where he made other comments that the commission alleges violated judicial ethics.<\/p>\n During the conversation, he told them a story about how male attorneys used to tell female secretaries \u201cyou better be able to f*** better than you can type.\u201d Draper told LAist his comments have been misconstrued to sound like he was bragging about behavior at his last law firm. In fact, he said, he was referring to how other firms had \u201cthat attitude towards secretaries\u201d when he started practicing law.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so proud of the country [because] now it wouldn\u2019t happen at all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n His comments and other issues ultimately led to the California Court of Appeals to overturn the verdict and order a new trial. Draper is also alleged to have touched a lawyer\u2019s hair during proceedings in that case without reason, which he testified<\/a> before the special masters hearing did not happen.<\/p>\n Other allegations cited by the commission involve multiple comments Draper has admitted to making about women in the courthouse in 2022 and 2023, according to records<\/a> and LAist\u2019s interview with him. The commission said these statements violated judicial ethics<\/a>, which Draper disputes.<\/p>\n \u200aI\u2019m not going to walk around with my handkerchief in my mouth. I can just say, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re looking cute today\u2019 and people understand that.<\/p>\n \u2014 Judge Robert Draper<\/p>\n In one instance, Draper told his presiding judge she \u201clooked cute\u201d when she was mad, according to records<\/a>. Another time he called a woman involved in a case<\/a> before him \u201cquite attractive\u201d in a \u201cglobal way.\u201d<\/p>\n Draper told LAist the language he used was \u201cnot a come-on\u201d and that he was \u201ctrying to make them feel good about themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI\u2019m not going to walk around with my handkerchief in my mouth. I can just say, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re looking cute today,\u2019 and people understand that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not going to be walking around the court picking out the cute ones and telling them they\u2019re cute.\u201d<\/p>\n Leave, email and other issues<\/p>\n Draper has also been charged with allegedly not following his courthouse leadership\u2019s directives.<\/p>\n When he was placed on involuntary leave in March 2023, according to the commission<\/a>, Draper continued to do administrative work on cases despite receiving verbal and written directives to not access the courthouse and its resources.<\/p>\n Draper told LAist his supervisors were aware that his work was continuing because he was emailing them about it.<\/p>\n \u201cThey understood what I was doing, and they approved it by not speaking up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Draper also testified<\/a> that he wasn\u2019t immediately told not to work while on leave. The commission said Draper wasn\u2019t \u201ccandid\u201d when he testified to that.<\/p>\n Judge Robert Draper on the first day of his hearing at the California Court of Appeal building in downtown Los Angeles on April 27.<\/p>\n The commission also cited problematic emails Draper admitted to sending from his court email address, according to records<\/a> and his testimony<\/a>. This included allegations that Draper sent files including nude photos from a confidential court case to people not authorized to receive them under state code<\/a>.<\/p>\n In June 2023, Draper sent an email to commission staff and other Superior Court judges with various materials, according to records<\/a>. The attachments included details from a July 2017 confidential child abuse case.<\/p>\n The case involved child sexual abuse allegations with a public figure. Draper emailed nude photos from the case files of children bathing, according to records<\/a> and his testimony<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the recipients of the email with nude photo attachments was retired Judge Lance Ito \u2014 best known for presiding over the O.J Simpson murder case in 1995. Ito testified<\/a> to not being personally acquainted with Draper at the time and called the email \u201cunusual.\u201d Draper testified<\/a> that the email blast was intended to show his legal contributions and that he is authorized under statute to consult with other judges. He said he copied Ito on the thread because of his leadership role in teaching judges.<\/p>\n Draper also emailed photos of himself \u201cfrom behind without clothes\u201d to the commission and other judges, according to records<\/a>. He testified<\/a> that this was to show his colleagues proof of an injury.<\/p>\n How we reported this story<\/p>\n Reporter Cato Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> covers judicial races during election season. They attended the first day<\/a> of Judge Robert Draper\u2019s hearing and obtained the rough transcripts for the entire hearing.<\/p>\n They also interviewed Draper and one of his key judicial endorsers, Judge Kimberly Repecka<\/a>. For analysis, they spoke to Laurie Levenson<\/a>, a law professor and David W. Burcham Chair in Ethical Advocacy at Loyola Law School.<\/p>\n In another charge, the commission said Draper has not cooperated<\/a> with its ethics inquiry that started in 2022 \u2014 such as repeatedly missing deadlines \u2014 and has been disrespectful to commission staff. Draper told LAist the commission\u2019s investigation was more like an inquisition because they didn\u2019t interview him before the hearing.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aThat is a big problem with the way the CJP operates,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not there to help judges. They\u2019re kinda trying to catch judges.\u201d<\/p>\n An endorser speaks out<\/p>\n Kimberly Repecka is one of four judges<\/a> who have endorsed Draper for re-election. She\u2019s a prior public defender who\u2019s known Draper for about 10 years and testified in his hearing last month.<\/p>\n She told LAist people have latched on to ageist narratives and that his character is being misrepresented. According to Repecka, it\u2019s common for older judges to share \u201cwar stories.\u201d<\/p>\n Repecka defended Draper\u2019s reasoning for bringing up race in the sexual harassment case.<\/p>\n \u201cI think most of us most of the time view it exactly how Judge Draper said he intended it: an attempt to connect on a more human level and remind ourselves that there\u2019s a world bigger than the courtroom and case we\u2019re in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Repecka told LAist she wouldn\u2019t use the same words he used to talk about skin color in the courtroom. She would be concerned it could cause discomfort.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aAs a white person, I would be pretty careful about how I address that if it seems relevant to the case itself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Judge Kimberly Repecka’s social media video endorsing Draper, which was posted on May 16.<\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Courtesy Judge Kimberly Repecka’s campaign Instagram @kimrepeckaforjudge<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School well-versed in judicial ethics, described it as a \u201creal stretch\u201d to view Draper\u2019s comments on race and appearance as appropriate under any circumstances. Levenson said she can\u2019t imagine other judges talking like this.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of training for judges that has happened in the last decade about how you don\u2019t talk about race unless it is a relevant issue,\u201d she said, \u201cand you especially don\u2019t use some of the terms that Judge Draper was using in these hearings.\u201d<\/p>\n Judges need to watch what they say in a courtroom because they need to not only be fair, but appear to be fair, Levenson said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has the ethical obligation to be impartial and how he demonstrates that he\u2019s being impartial is going to be evaluated by how he acts and what he says in the courtroom,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you take his words at face value, there certainly would be reason to question how he\u2019s treating people in that courtroom.\u201d<\/p>\n Levenson has reviewed the hearing\u2019s rough transcripts, the charges and Draper\u2019s filed answer to them. She said it appears the commission \u201cbent over backwards\u201d to \u200agive him a fair chance during their \u201crobust\u201d process.<\/p>\n What comes next\u00a0<\/p>\n The next step is for the special masters to put together a report of their conclusions for the commission members, which Draper will have a chance to respond to. The special masters won\u2019t<\/a> make recommendations about discipline.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780088294_899_.png\")
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