Former SLT judge questions timing of state ethics board action

Steven Bailey, the retired El Dorado County judge now running for attorney general, suggests a state disciplinary investigation tied to his tenure on the bench “was timed to coincide” with his campaign for the Republican nomination.

In documents filed Wednesday, Bailey did not allege outright that the Commission on Judicial Performance was motivated by politics in filing 11 counts of ethical wrongdoing against him last month. But his attorney —James Murphy of Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney— noted that the commission “is largely comprised of Democrats” appointed by the state’s top officeholders, all of whom are Democrats. Murphy also said the commission announced the charges against Bailey during the statewide candidate filing period.

“Judge Bailey denies that he committed willful misconduct in office, conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute, and improper action” as alleged by the commission, Murphy said in the response to the charges.

Gregory Dresser, the commission’s director and chief counsel, declined to comment on Bailey’s claims.

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