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Judge admonished for ‘undignified’ behavior, including gestures mimicking pumping of breast milk

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 20, 2025, 8:55 am CST

A California judge who commented on people with brown hair and blond hair and once mimicked the pumping of breast milk has been publicly admonished.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance admonished Judge Julian W. Bailey, a judge of the Orange County Superior Court in California since 2012, in a Feb. 13 decision, report Law360 and the Metropolitan News-Enterprise.

“In 2014, and again in 2022 and 2023, Judge Bailey engaged in a pattern of discourteous, undignified and impatient behavior with female and/or inexperienced attorneys, in 10 separate matters,” the opinion said. “In some instances, the judge also conveyed the appearance of embroilment and bias on the basis of gender, race, national origin or ethnicity.”

Bailey told the commission that underlying medical conditions could provide a partial explanation for some of his behavior.

“He also admitted that, medical conditions notwithstanding, he should not have behaved as he did, and he accepted full responsibility for his misconduct,” the commission’s opinion said.

According to the commission, Bailey:

  • Learned that a deputy public defender who was the assigned public defender in Bailey’s courtroom might need a break at trial to pump breast milk for her baby. In one instance in March 2014, Bailey asked, “Do you need to—,” and then made a gesture with his hands against his chest. He moved his hands up and down in opposite directions while making the sound, “Ch, ch.”

  • Told his clerk to forever ban another deputy public defender from his chambers after she entered during a meeting in March 2014. Bailey complained to meeting participants after the deputy public defender left that she “has no tact” and is “so f- – -ing rude.” A meeting participant—who is white with blond hair—said the deputy public defender entered because she “had made eye contact” with her. “There are two kinds of people in this world—blonds and brunettes,” Bailey replied. The deputy public defender is of South Asian or Indian descent and has brown hair.

  • In March 2023, engaged in a “public beratement” of a deputy public defender who rolled her eyes at the prosecutor. He pointed a finger and raised his voice, telling the deputy public defender that she was “way out of line.” The entire courtroom went silent, but Bailey continued. “Don’t you dare do this in my courtroom. Ma’am, do you understand? Do you understand?”

  • In September 2022, Bailey objected to what he thought was an offensive facial expression by the same deputy public defender. “Counsel, the way you’re looking at me right now, it’s like you’re saying, ‘F- – – you, judge.’” he said. He also said that kind of nonverbal communication won’t be beneficial to her client. Bailey later apologized.

  • Stated that a defendant didn’t have to appear for a September 2022 hearing and then issued a bench warrant for the defendant’s arrest when he didn’t appear.

  • Interrupted a lawyer with an Arabic accent who was trying to clarify which section of the penal code the judge was using to order a mental competency evaluation for his new client. “I understand you’re not sure about a lot of things, but I’d ask you to please answer my question. Why should I not appoint doctors today?” Bailey asked during the January 2023 hearing. At another point, Bailey said, “I’m hoping to kind of bring you up to speed on an area of law about which you don’t seem to be well informed.”

  • In early 2014, said words to the effect that he was lucky “to get to work with beautiful women.” He was referring to a deputy public defender and a prosecutor.

  • Told a juvenile in a delinquency case in early 2014, “Oh, wow, what are you doing in custody? You’re so beautiful,” or said words to that effect. He also said the juvenile “could get a job in the movies playing a Native
American Indian.”

Law360 identified Bailey’s lawyer as Paul S. Meyer. He told the ABA Journal that he and his client have no comment.

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Judiciary

California judge admonished for doing this after telling newbie attorney to stop shaking her head

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 12, 2024, 10:21 am CST

A California judge has received a public admonishment partly for flinging court papers at a newbie defense lawyer because he thought that she was shaking her head at him.

Judge Thomas R. Adams of Santa Barbara County, California, acted in November 2023 after expressing impatience with Deputy Public Defender Reem Yassin, according to the Dec. 10 public admonishment. Yassin had been admitted to law practice for only three months at the time.

Law360 has coverage.

Yassin had filed a request for pretrial diversion for her client and noticed it for hearing during a continued arraignment. During the hearing, the prosecution objected to the diversion request on several grounds, including that the arraignment department was not the proper forum.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance’s public admonishment says this exchange followed:

“Let me interrupt,” Adams said. “This is not the time that I’m supposed to play referee between public defender and district attorney. OK? I just don’t have the time or the patience to do that. OK? If you want to have a fistfight with the DA, take it outside.”

Adams continued after Yassin tried to interject.

“I have a whole bunch of people sitting here waiting for their cases to be called. I just don’t need this, OK? I just don’t need it. This is not the first time it’s happened. So, we’re all on—we’re all on notification.”

“And I’m sorry,” he said as he threw off his glasses. “Don’t shake your head at me like, ‘Oh, don’t give me this crap,’ OK?”

Yassin protested that she wasn’t shaking her head at the judge.

“No, you are,” he said as he pointed at Yassin. “I’ll come back later. You guys can have a seat right there, OK? I just don’t need this from you today, OK? Are we on the same page? You’re asking the court to do you a big favor.”

At that point, he flung the moving papers toward Yassin. They landed in front of the podium where she was standing.

The defendant then commented, “That was crazy.”

Yassin was so distressed by the incident that her superiors sent her home and temporarily reassigned her cases to other attorneys. She didn’t return to court until the following week.

Adams later sent Yassin an apology letter acknowledging that his conduct was inappropriate.

The public admonishment also said Adams made misleading statements to the California Commission on Judicial Performance in a previous ethics investigation when he said he intended to retire.

“Judge Adams hopes that the commission will conclude that in light of nearly half of a century’s career on the bench and Judge Adams’ retirement, his missteps do not warrant the imposition of discipline,” he said in his response to the preliminary investigation letter in the previous ethics case.

Adams did not retire. He was privately admonished in June 2023 in that case, which cited an ex parte conversation with the jury foreperson, a failure to cooperate with other judges and court officials in the administration of court business, and conduct that could reasonably be interpreted as biased based on sex and gender.

The bias incident stemmed from a defendant’s remark that a female attorney was “so beautiful.”

“I’ll stipulate to that,” Adams replied.

Adams received a previous private admonishment in 1993 for ordering a pro se family law litigant to be taken into custody for two days without a contempt hearing.

Adams respects the public admonishment decision by the California Commission on Judicial Performance, his representatives told Law360 in a statement.

Throughout his 50-year judicial career, the statement said, Adams endeavored to be “respectful, courteous and patient” to everyone in his courtroom, the statement said.

“The incident involving the deputy public defender was an isolated occurrence for which he immediately sought to make amends by sending her a private letter of apology,” the statement said. “Judge Adams did not intend to mislead the commission regarding his plans to remain on the bench but acknowledges that he should have communicated with the commission more clearly his intention to continue his judicial service.”