Justice's lawyers say women lied; commission lawyers ask why

SAN DIEGO -- An attorney for appellate Justice Jeffrey Johnson argued Tuesday that allegations against him of sexual harassment and bullying were part of a #MeToo era pile-on while an examiner for the Commission on Judicial Performance said the 17 women who accused him, and the supporting witnesses, had no reason to lie.

The panel of three special masters examining the commission's charges against Johnson will make a recommendation on whether the accusations of judicial misconduct have been proven, which could lead to his removal from the bench.

At the close of final arguments, Imperial County Judge William D. Lehman, one of the special masters, asked Johnson's attorney, Paul Meyer of Costa Mesa, if his allegation that some witnesses lied applied to Johnson's 2nd District Court of Appeal colleague, Justice Victoria Chaney.

"I know you believe that Justice Chaney lied, is that correct?" Lehman asked.

Meyer stuttered but eventually said he did believe Chaney to be a liar, describing her as an "insecure individual. She was misreading the relationship between herself and Justice Johnson."

Meyer added that Chaney was self conscious about her "fading youth" and liked the attention and sympathy she got from accusing Johnson.

"I don't know if you're going to be able to lift the curtain of her mind," Meyer finished when asked by Lehman why he thought Chaney would lie.

Chaney had testified that Johnson had grabbed her breasts and her buttocks without her permission and made multiple sexual propositions. She said she did not report the behavior, and recommended him for a state Supreme Court post because she thought she was his only victim.

Another special master, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Louis R. Hanoian, asked whether a state constitutional provision that a judge can't be removed or censured for conduct that occurred more than six years ago meant that all the questions and testimony from before that time could be disregarded.

Commission on Judicial Performance examiner Emma Bradford said, "It's probably an issue of statutory interpretation." In her final arguments, Bradford told the panel Johnson "used his position" to "prey on young female attorneys."

She recounted batteries of testimony from women who did not work with each other but reported similar profiles of abuse, from being cornered and propositioned by an inebriated Johnson to poorly disguised efforts at quid quo pro.

"This is not one woman misconstruing an innocent but awkward interaction with Justice Johnson," but a clear pattern, Bradford said. "Very few of these women knew about the other allegations at the time they testified."

The special masters would have to believe some witnesses "utterly fabricated" their testimony to not hold up the charges against Johnson, Bradford argued. Reminding the panel many of the women said they did not come forward earlier because they feared damage to their careers, Bradford said, "None of these women gain anything by lying."

But lying is exactly what some of the witnesses were doing when they testified, argued Meyer, Johnson's attorney. He reiterated in his final arguments his assertions throughout the case that most of the claims against Johnson were exaggerated, some happened but were taken out of context, and others were made up from whole cloth.

"We believe the evidence has born this out," Meyer said. He said the commission erred in assuming all the testimony of the women was true when it formulated the charges.

"Presented for you on a tray are selected violations" that could be used to besmirch a man's entire career, Meyer said.

He outlined a scenario of a conspiracy among the women who testified against Johnson, saying in the #MeToo climate women can come forward freely and "are rewarded for it." He did not detail the alleged rewards.

Behind the scenes influencing a plan to bury Johnson, Meyer said, was a court attorney, Merete Rietveld, who testified she organized other women to sign a sexual harassment petition and said she didn't want to leave another accuser "twisting in the wind."

One of the more salacious allegations was from one of Johnson's former externs, Melissa Miller, who was subpoenaed to testify against her will and told of Johnson exposing his penis to her in his chambers as well as groping and propositioning her. Meyer said Miller's accusations were "shocking and untrue" and dismissed her testimony as "sexual harassment speak."

Bradford detailed the testimony of several of the witnesses, including Roberta Burnette, who in October 2015 headed Denton's labor and employment practice and said she attended an Association of Business Trial Lawyers event where she met Johnson at a table of attorneys.

Shortly afterward, the people at the table got up to leave, Burnette testified, so she sat with Johnson and started talking to him.

Burnette said Johnson told her, "You know, you're very voluptuous," a comment she testified she found odd, but shrugged off, shifting the conversation to the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic and her role as a viola player in it.

Burnette said Johnson then told her, "You need to put your viola mouth on my big black dick."

Johnson testified he did not say that and did not expose himself to Miller while also denying other allegations.

Bradford concluded by asking the panel, "Why on earth would she make this up?"

Johnson held a great and disproportionate amount of power over the individuals he targeted, Bradford argued, saying he further injured them by causing their names to be raked through the mud during the coverage of the case.

"These women deserve a safe workplace," Bradford said, "Justice Johnson is a bully ... who continues to lie to avoid the consequences of his actions."