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California appellate judge, Jeffrey W. Johnson, is removed from office by panel for ’15-year history of misconduct and unwanted touching and for proposing an affair to his colleague’ – 40 allegations proven

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;382e2e&semi;"><strong>Veteran California appellate judge is removed from office by panel for &&num;8217&semi;15-year history of misconduct&&num;8217&semi;<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;382e2e&semi;"><strong>Justice Jeffrey W&period; Johnson&comma; 59&comma; was removed from office&comma; the Commission on Judicial Performance announced Tuesday<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;382e2e&semi;"><strong>He was removed from his office at 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles for a litany of inappropriate behavior including unwanted touching of &lbrack;female colleagues&rsqb; and for proposing an affair to his colleague<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;382e2e&semi;"><strong>Johnson was first formally charged in January 2019 with allegations of misconduct that went back 15 years and involved nearly 20 women <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;382e2e&semi;"><strong>At least 16 of the women were lawyers who worked for the court&comma; a county prosecutor and three fellow appellate justices<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;382e2e&semi;"><strong>Charging documents said he proposed an affair to his colleague Justice Victoria Chaney and touched her breasts in a years long pattern of harassment<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;382e2e&semi;"><strong>The panel recommended his removal from office for 18 acts of prejudicial misconduct involving more than 40 proven allegations <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;382e2e&semi;"><strong>Johnson denied the allegations&comma; his attorney said they intend to ask the California Supreme Court to review the process<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img-group floatRHS">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mobile-gallery-icon"><strong><span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;"><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-348077" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2020&sol;06&sol;Jeffrey-W&period;-Johnson-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Jeffrey W&period; Johnson 1" width&equals;"986" height&equals;"724" &sol;>California appellate court justice Jeffrey W&period; Johnson&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; has  beenmoved from office&period; He was removed for 18 acts of prejudicial misconduct involving more than 40 proven allegations&comma; the Commission on Judicial Performance announced Tuesday<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">A California appellate court judge has been removed from office following a catalog  of complaints of sexual misconduct&comma; unwanted touching and undignified behavior&comma;  amassed over a decade and half&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;With a long list of harassment levelled against him that includes proposing an affair to one of his colleagues&comma; Jeffrey W&period; Johnson&comma; 59&comma; of the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles was removed from office&comma; it was announced Tuesday&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Commission on Judicial Performance said that the appellate court justice&&num;8217&semi;s misconduct was aggravated by his lack of candor throughout the proceedings&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;">The panel said he should be removed for 18 acts of prejudicial misconduct involving more than 40 proven allegations&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;span><span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;">Johnson was first formally charged in January 2019 with <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;latimes&period;com&sol;california&sol;story&sol;2019-08-05&sol;justice-sexual-harassment-hearing">allegations of misconduct<&sol;a> that went back 15 years and named at least 16 women&comma; many of them lawyers who worked for the court&comma; a county prosecutor and three fellow appellate justices&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery"><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-348083" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2020&sol;06&sol;Jeffrey-W&period;-Johnson-6&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Jeffrey W&period; Johnson 6" width&equals;"1683" height&equals;"1651" &sol;>J<span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;">ustice Jeffrey W&period; Johnson&comma;<&sol;span> &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; was removed from his office for 18 acts of prejudicial misconduct involving more than 40 proven allegations&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery"><span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;">The panel recommended that Justice Johnson should be removed from his office for 18 acts of prejudicial misconduct involving more than 40 proven allegations&period; <&sol;span><&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">&&num;8216&semi;Treating women disrespectfully&comma; including unwanted touching and making inappropriate sexual comments&comma; reflects a sense of entitlement completely at odds with the canons of judicial ethics and the role of any judge&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the panel wrote in a 111-page decision and order&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Paul S&period; Meyer&comma; attorney for Johnson said they want to ask the California Supreme Court to review the order given &&num;8216&semi;the unprecedented decision&&num;8217&semi; to remove a sitting judge who has never been disciplined and whose legal work is undisputed&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;Not one witness ever claimed him to be unfair in any case&comma; or anything less than brilliant&period; The entire matter here involved non-judicial social conversations&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Meyer said in a statement&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mobile-gallery-icon"><strong><strong><span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-348085" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2020&sol;06&sol;Jeffrey-W&period;-Johnson-7&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Jeffrey W&period; Johnson 7" width&equals;"1123" height&equals;"709" &sol;>Johnson held a justice seat at the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles &lbrack;right&rsqb; &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;strong><strong style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;">The probe<span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;"> named at least 16 women&comma; including lawyers who worked for the court&comma; a county prosecutor and three fellow appellate justices<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div><span style&equals;"color&colon; var&lpar;--color-text&rpar;&semi;">Johnson a graduate of Yale Law School&comma; former federal prosecutor and federal judge was appointed by then-Gov&period; Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009 to the California Court of Appeal&period;<&sol;span><&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">The complaint said he solicited his colleague Justice Victoria Chaney to have an affair&period; He said he wanted to squeeze her breasts and touched her breasts&comma; a pattern of harassment that persisted for years&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The complaint also said that Johnson proposed sex three times to a California Highway Patrol officer who served as his driver for work functions&comma; according to <a class&equals;"class" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;nbclosangeles&period;com&sol;news&sol;local&sol;california-state-appeals-court-justice-accused-of-sexual-misconduct&sol;448&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow noreferrer noopener">NBC&period;<&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;Johnson denied the allegations&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The panel further found that justice Johnson behaved inappropriately toward judicial assistants and a research attorney&comma; telling them they looked good and soliciting personal relationships with them with his attorneys suggesting Johnson was the victim of malicious gossip and that some of his accusers&comma; including Justice Victoria Chaney&comma; were not credible&period;&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Gregory Dresser&comma; director and chief counsel of the Commission on Judicial Performance&comma; said the decision is final in 30 days&comma; at which point Johnson has 60 days to request the California Supreme Court for review&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;

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