JUDGE COULD RETURN; BRADLEY MUST STAY SOBER FOR YEAR TO GO BACK TO BENCH, PANEL RULES.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer Disgraced Judge Robert C. Bradley has been barred from hearing cases as a private jurist A judge or legal scholar; an individual who is versed or skilled in law. The term jurist is ordinarily applied to individuals who have gained respect and recognition by their writings on legal topics. jurist n. but may be allowed to return to the bench if he stays sober for a year, a state disciplinary panel ruled Thursday. The decision by the Commission on Judicial Performance prevents Bradley from working as a judge for now but holds open the door for him to serve as a private judge if he maintains ``complete sobriety,'' the ruling says. ``The commission's primary trust is to the public, and it cannot at this time find that Judge Bradley is fit to sit on assignment,'' says the report, which held Bradley out for public censure A formal, public reprimand for an infraction or violation. From time to time deliberative bodies are forced to take action against members whose actions or behavior runs counter to the group's acceptable standards for individual behavior. In the U.S. . Bradley, 57, was forced off the Ventura County Superior Court bench in January 1998 after he was arrested twice within a month for drunk driving and for showing up for work intoxicated in·tox·i·cate v. in·tox·i·cat·ed, in·tox·i·cat·ing, in·tox·i·cates v.tr. 1. To stupefy or excite by the action of a chemical substance such as alcohol. 2. . He later pleaded guilty to the drunk-driving charges and served a month in jail. But while on probation, he was arrested two more times for alcohol-related incidents and served a six-month jail term. The commission also found that during his second drunk-driving arrest, Bradley asked Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. police to simply drive him home because an arrest would ruin his career. Bradley, who remains in an out-patient alcohol treatment program, was happy with the decision, said his attorney, Thomas Brayton. ``He's relieved that there is a decision and that he'll be able to apply to serve by assignment,'' Brayton said. ``I'm pleased with the outcome. They fashioned a remedy that appears to be good for everyone.'' Brayton said the former judge is living in a Ventura apartment with two recovering alcoholics and is working outside of the legal profession. He also attends Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), worldwide organization dedicated to the treatment of alcoholics; founded 1935 by two alcoholics, one a New York broker, the other an Ohio physician. meetings seven days a week and undergoes random alcohol tests. The commission's unanimous decision A Unanimous Decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all 3 judges agree on which fighter won the match. echoes pleas from several local judges, District Attorney Michael Bradbury and others who, during Bradley's disciplinary hearing in December, said they would support Bradley taking on cases by assignment - provided he stays sober. ``I believe the decision is eminently fair,'' Bradbury said. ``I believe that they performed a delicate balancing between the misconduct and the damage that flowed from that misconduct and the lifetime of public service - very distinguished public service. ``It's clear that there had to be some sanctions. But they also gave Judge Bradley some hope.'' In one year, Bradley can ask the commission to remove the ban, although that is no guarantee he will be allowed to serve as a judge, said Victoria Henley, the commission's executive director. ``The commission can bar a judge from being eligible for assignments,'' Henley said. ``But the chief justice (of the state Supreme Court) makes an independent decision about whether to assign someone.'' The commission found that the former judge committed the nine acts of judicial misconduct he was charged with, including leaving a threatening message for a prosecutor who was seeing Bradley's ex-wife, Dorothea. During their final hearing on the matter last month, the commission found Bradley to be forthright forth·right adj. 1. Direct and without evasion; straightforward: a forthright appraisal; forthright criticism. 2. Archaic Proceeding straight ahead. adv. 1. about his 30-year battle with alcoholism but noted there is no guarantee of a permanent recovery. Commission examiners, who served as prosecutors in the disciplinary process, said Bradley undermined public respect for the judiciary and that his misconduct deserved the ``highest degree of discipline available.'' HISTORY OF JURIST'S RUN-INS The following is a chronology of Superior Court Judge Robert Bradley's problems with the law: Dec. 6, 1997: Bradley is arrested on suspicion of DUI with a blood-alcohol level of 0.21 percent, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08. He steps down as presiding judge presiding judge n. 1) in both state and federal appeals court, the judge who chairs the panel of three or more judges during hearings and supervises the business of the court. but remains on the bench. The Ventura County District Attorney's Office turns the case over to the state Attorney General's Office. Bradley seeks treatment for alcohol abuse. Jan. 3, 1998: Bradley is arrested for DUI near Santa Paula with a blood-alcohol level of 0.27 percent. Jan. 13: Bradley is placed on administrative leave from his $107,390-a-year job after appearing at the courthouse under the influence of alcohol. Feb. 24: Bradley pleads guilty to two DUI charges. He is fined $1,900 and sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years' probation. He also is ordered to abstain from abstain from verb refrain from, avoid, decline, give up, stop, refuse, cease, do without, shun, renounce, eschew, leave off, keep from, forgo, withhold from, forbear, desist from, deny yourself, kick ( alcohol for three years, to enroll in a multiple-offender DUI program and to install a device in his car that prevents it from starting if he has been drinking. March 20: The state Commission on Judicial Performance launches proceedings to disqualify To deprive of eligibility or render unfit; to disable or incapacitate. To be disqualified is to be stripped of legal capacity. A wife would be disqualified as a juror in her husband's trial for murder due to the nature of their relationship. Bradley from the bench, accusing him of dereliction of duty Dereliction of duty is a specific offense in military law. It includes various elements centered around the avoidance of any duty which may be properly expected. In the U.S. and of trying to influence police during his two DUI arrests. March 31: The state commission temporarily suspends Bradley. April 25: Bradley is arrested for violating probation after trying to enter his estranged es·trange tr.v. es·tranged, es·trang·ing, es·trang·es 1. To make hostile, unsympathetic, or indifferent; alienate. 2. To remove from an accustomed place or set of associations. wife's Ojai home while under the influence of alcohol. He is released on $3,000 bail. The judge is arrested again later that day on suspicion of violating a restraining order restraining order: see injunction. after he repeatedly calls his wife. He is jailed in lieu of Instead of; in place of; in substitution of. It does not mean in addition to. $100,000 bail. April 28: Bradley posts bail and re-enters alcohol treatment. May 14: Bradley pleads guilty to violating probation but not guilty to five counts of violating the restraining order. One day later, he is arrested on suspicion of violating probation after he is found - stumbling stumbling an abnormal gait in which the animal does not fully extend the limb, the plantar surface is not properly placed with respect to the ground surface at the time of impact so that the limb is likely to collapse and the animal to fall. and reeking reek v. reeked, reek·ing, reeks v.intr. 1. To smoke, steam, or fume. 2. To be pervaded by something unpleasant: "This document ... of alcohol - on a Ventura street corner. He posts $5,000 bail and re-enters rehab. May 26: Bradley pleads guilty to violating probation, but not guilty to charges of public drunkenness and riding a bicycle while intoxicated. A month later, he is sentenced to six months in prison for his first DUI conviction and an additional 30 days for riding his bike while drunk and fined $250. Aug. 4: Bradley is arrested in a Ventura motel two weeks after walking away from an alcohol treatment center in Arizona. Two days later, he pleads guilty to violating probation and is ordered to immediately begin serving the six-month sentence from the earlier conviction. Dec. 2: Bradley is released from jail and ordered to submit to daily alcohol testing until Dec. 12, when he is scheduled to enter an alcohol treatment facility. Dec. 7: The state Commission on Judicial Performance opens a hearing on Bradley's future, ultimately reviewing three rounds of briefs from both sides and hearing oral arguments. June 3: Bradley is publicly censured by the commission, which bars him from hearing cases as a private judge. However, commissioners may allow him to hear appointed cases if he stays sober for a year. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO (Color) (Ran in Conejo and Simi Editions only) Robert Bradley Robert Bradley or Bob Bradley can refer to:
Door held open BOX: (Ran in Conejo and Simi Editions only) HISTORY OF JURIST`S RUN-INS (See text) |
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