Ex-clerk says before her testimony justice noted he was suing women who accused him

LOS ANGELES -- A former law clerk of state appellate Justice Jeffrey Johnson testified Thursday that he contacted her when allegations of sexually charged impropriety against him became public and informed her he was suing the women who accused him for defamation.

Nicole Denow, who testified Johnson had made multiple sexual and unprofessional comments to her when she worked for him as a U.S. magistrate judge, said Johnson's attorney, Paul S. Meyer of Costa Mesa, also approached her to sign a declaration on behalf of the justice. She did not do so.

Denow, now an attorney with Currier & Hudson in San Diego, clerked for Johnson in the Central District of California from March 2006 to May 2008.

She testified to multiple comments he made to her that she considered harassment, said he retaliated when she was leaving for another job, and that she feared upsetting him. She also said that after leaving his court she asked him to officiate at her wedding and be a godfather to her daughters. She said she initiated contact with him in the ensuing years, texting him about sports and having lunch with him three times.

"I don't like to burn bridges," Denow testified emotionally while she confirmed she was the main driver behind continued contact with Johnson.

"You had to stay on his good side. He's sensitive and could get upset," Denow said when asked why she had not reported his behavior at the court. She said she had witnessed the justice become upset with others.

Seventeen women have accused Johnson, 58, of a range of inappropriate behavior from bullying to groping. Johnson has denied most of the allegations and said others were taken out of context.

Denow testified on the eighth day of what is estimated to be a 19-day Commission on Judicial Performance disciplinary hearing.

"It would be hard for me to give an approximate number" of times Johnson said things to her that regularly made her uncomfortable, Denow said under questioning by Commission on Judicial Performance examiner Emma Bradford.

The first comment she recalled was related to a fantasy football pool she was involved with. When Johnson heard about it, she said he told her, "Oh, you're so beautiful, you're so smart, you're into football. If only I'd met you in college."

"I was 3," Denow said she responded.

A short time afterward, Denow said, Johnson made a comment to the effect that his wife wasn't his intellectual equal. This bothered Denow, she said, because, "It's uncomfortable, and kind of hurtful."

In 2006, Denow said, Johnson made a comment to an extern at the courthouse during an outing at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles.

The extern was staying at her parent's house while working at the court. Denow said Johnson began to inappropriately question the extern. "He started to ask her if her parents let her boyfriend sleep in the same bed as her."

Matter-of-fact comments about various women's breast augmentations would occasionally come up as well, Denow testified, giving an example of another employee she had befriended. "You know ... she got a boob job as well. She got one after her divorce," Denow quoted the justice as telling her.

Around January 2008, Denow said, she told Johnson she was looking for another position and he asked for eight weeks notice.

She said the United Nations offered her a position in Kosovo and toward the end of the eight weeks, when she was preparing to leave, Denow said Johnson told her, "Oh no, you have to give me another eight weeks notice."

Around this time, Denow said, she was returning to court from an outing with a male colleague when she met with Johnson in his chambers.

"He was sitting at a table in the chambers," Denow said, and when he heard about the outing, Johnson began to make a "face of disgust."

"I've just pictured you having sex with Jonathan," Denow quoted Johnson as saying.

"It took my breath away," Denow said. She felt humiliated and "didn't know how to deflect," Denow testified.

The outburst and the request for another eight weeks were Johnson's way of reprimanding her for leaving him, she testified. "I thought he was trying to hurt me or prevent me from getting the job at the U.N." Denow said.

When she became upset at his requests, she said Johnson remarked, "I have daughters myself. Is it your time of the month?"

Denow said she felt undermined by the "sexist insinuation" that was meant to wave away her frustrations.

On behalf of Johnson, Meyer based his cross-examination on Denow's attempts to remain in contact with Johnson for up to 10 years after she left his court.

Denow testified she regularly texted Johnson during sporting events they each cared about and sent him pictures of her children.

"I tried to make things right," Denow said.

After receiving one such photo, Johnson asked if the two girls needed "an L.A. godfather," Denow said. She responded affirmatively and asked Johnson to be the girls' godfather.

Meyer asked whether Denow asked Johnson to officiate at her wedding in 2011. She did, but said he was unable to make it due to a prior obligation. Denow described her worry that not changing the day of her wedding would upset Johnson and searched for a "way to get back in his good graces" for not doing so.

Denow said her decision to testify against Johnson stemmed from her law practice, which involves investigating sexual harassment claims in the workplace. "If I expect these women to come forward and tell me what happened to them and I don't have the courage to come forward," Denow said, adding she knew she had to say something.

Later in the day, Justice Helen I. Zukin became the sixth member of the court of appeal to testify in the hearing. Others from Division 1 besides Johnson and Bendix were Presiding Justice Frances Rothschild and Justice Victoria Chaney. Also testifying were Administrative Presiding Justice Elwood G. Lui, who sits in Division 2; and Division 8 Justices Tricia Bigelow and Elizabeth A. Grimes.