Former attorney general candidate gets public censure

Citing "a broad spectrum of misconduct on and off the bench spanning the entire course of his career," the Commission on Judicial Performance censured retired El Dorado County Superior Court judge Steven C. Bailey on Wednesday.

The decision bars Bailey from holding future judicial office or assignments in California.

"Our own review of the record and observation of the judge at his appearance reveals a judge who plays by his own rules with little concern for whether his conduct comports with the rules applicable to all judges under the Code of Judicial Ethics," concluded the 43-page decision.

Bailey, a Republican, faced Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra in the November general election but lost by more than 3 million votes.

In public statements, Bailey has repeatedly claimed the charges against him were politically motivated. In an answer filed with the Commission last May, Bailey's attorneys wrote the inquiry was timed to disrupt his campaign and carried out by a commission "largely comprised of Democrats appointed by Governor Jerry Brown."

"The evidence will show this is an overly zealous, politically-motivated prosecution," said Bailey's lead attorney, James A. Murphy, during the six-day evidentiary hearing in September.

Murphy, the founding shareholder of Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney in San Francisco, did not return calls and emails seeking comment for this story.

The commission found Bailey committed a dozen separate violations. These include running for attorney general and raising more than $17,000 while still a sitting judge, and "using the prestige of his office" while on the bench.

The order also concluded he sent defendants to an electronic monitoring company where his son worked without disclosing the relationship, accepted improper gifts, made inappropriate workplace comments and filed inaccurate travel expense reports.

The initial charges were filed more than a year ago, months before Bailey bested two better-funded candidates to come in second in the June attorney general primary.

The commission held another hearing on Jan. 30 to allow attorneys to answer the report produced by the special masters that oversaw the evidentiary hearing, led by Justice Kenneth R. Yegan of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Division Six.

The final report released Wednesday offered a stinging rebuke not just of Bailey's conduct, but of some of the defenses he offered.

"The facts are largely undisputed ... As the masters noted, Judge Bailey has his own views on appropriate conduct for a judge, and his views are misinformed and erroneous. ... We conclude there is a strong likelihood that Judge Bailey would engage in subsequent misconduct if he were to serve in a judicial capacity in the future," the commission wrote.

Another key assertion in Bailey's defense were allegations that El Dorado County Superior Court Presiding Judge Suzanne N. Kingsbury engaged court employees in a months-long quest to gather information to use against him in a commission proceeding.

"Judge Bailey fails to recognize it is his improper conduct that is the basis of this inquiry, regardless of the motivations of those who brought forth the allegations," the decision said.

The commission also rejected First Amendment arguments made by the defense. The order said there is "a compelling state interest in preserving public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary" that outweighed Bailey's free speech rights while running for office.

Bailey won an open seat on the El Dorado County bench in 2008, then stepped down in August 2017. He spent his early career in Sacramento, including as a staffer to Republican John Briggs in both the Assembly and Senate. Bailey later served as deputy director for the California Department of Social Services and worked as a private defense attorney.

He has also become a regular guest on conservative talk radio programs. Bailey regularly uses his Twitter feed to criticize Becerra, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the high speed rail project.