California’s judicial watchdog ordered an 84-year-old Los Angeles County judge removed after a pattern of racial remarks, sexual comments, and emails with nude photos.
The California Commission on Judicial Performance ordered Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Draper removed from office after an investigation found a yearslong pattern of misconduct toward attorneys, fellow judges, and courthouse employees, the New York Post reported.
In an 87-page decision, the commission identified nine instances of willful misconduct, eight of prejudicial misconduct, and one improper action. The order came on a Tuesday following findings that ranged from unsolicited race talk in open court to emails carrying confidential photos of naked minors and a picture of the judge himself naked from behind.
Draper, appointed in 2012 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, had already lost a bid for another term in June after the Los Angeles County Bar Association rated him “not qualified.” The commission’s removal order closed the chapter on conduct it described as extensive and severe.
In February 2023, Draper was handling a sexual harassment lawsuit when a black female attorney appeared in the case for the first time. He launched into unsolicited remarks on black football quarterbacks, interracial marriage, racial segregation in the South, and former President Lyndon Johnson’s role in the Civil Rights Act.
The commission later labeled those comments prejudicial misconduct.
"irrelevant and gratuitous"
That was the panel’s verdict on the February courtroom digression. Judges are expected to keep hearings focused on the dispute before them. Draper did not.
The same pattern spilled into private settings. In chambers, Draper told two female attorneys he recalled lawyers saying secretaries “you better be able to f, better than you can type.”
The commission also found he mistreated female court employees and a female presiding judge. He improperly communicated with an attorney involved in the sexual harassment case and falsely claimed a judicial watchdog had requested a review of his handling of the trial.
Those findings added weight to a record the panel said showed either a deep ethical blind spot or an open refusal to follow the rules that bind every judge.
Among the most concrete evidence were group emails. One included confidential juvenile dependency records with photographs of naked minors. Another carried a photograph of Draper taken from behind while he was naked.
Courthouse staff and colleagues received material that should never have left sealed files or private life. The commission treated the transmissions as part of the broader misconduct tally that justified removal.
In March 2023, Draper recused himself from the sexual harassment case. That should have ended his involvement. It did not.
He later presided over a hearing on an effort to disqualify him and threatened to report the attorneys seeking his removal to the State Bar of California. The commission called that bad faith.
"Judge Draper acted in bad faith because he had previously recused himself from the case and he knew he had no power to make further rulings,"
The panel’s language left little room for spin. Once a judge steps aside, the power to rule is gone. Draper used it anyway and then waved the State Bar as a threat against lawyers who challenged him.
The removal order rested on more than isolated lapses. The commission stacked the record and reached a blunt institutional judgment.
"Judge Draper persistently violated the standards governing judicial behavior and engaged in extensive and severe misconduct,"
It added that the problems grew worse because of his unwillingness to acknowledge wrongdoing, an apparent lack of remorse, and testimony that raised questions about his honesty.
"Judge Draper’s misconduct reflected either a concerning lack of familiarity with ethical precepts, or an unwillingness to conform to those precepts,"
Draper disputed the charges in a formal February response. He argued they “were contrary to all credible evidence and/or taken wholly out of context.” His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment when the order became public.
Jerry Brown put Draper on the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2012. Draper won two six-year terms after that. The June election told a different story. After the Los Angeles County Bar Association rated him “not qualified,” voters denied him another term.
The commission’s Tuesday order finished what the bar rating and the ballot box had started. An 84-year-old judge with a documented trail of racial digressions, sexual comments aimed at women in the courthouse, improper post-recusal rulings, and emails containing nude images was told to leave the bench.
Public trust in the courts depends on judges who keep their personal agendas, private appetites, and sealed files out of the workplace. When a commission has to spell out nine counts of willful misconduct to remove one man, taxpayers and litigants are right to demand the standard be enforced without apology.
