Commission on Judicial Performance weighing whether to discipline Contra Costa judge

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Commission on Judicial Performance is deliberating whether to discipline Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Bruce Mills for allegedly abusing his power in the handling of his minor son's tobacco-possession case.

 

Mills, 55, is not facing removal from the bench but rather a public admonishment that would be his second such disciplinary action since he was appointed a judge in 1995.

The commission instituted formal proceedings against Mills in January over an off-the-record, in-chambers discussion about his son's case that he had with a pro tem commissioner at the Walnut Creek courthouse in October 2011.

Such communications in uncontested, juvenile matters are not illegal for the average person, but a commission examiner argued Wednesday that Mills "took advantage of his position as a judge" and created an appearance of accepting preferential treatment when he accepted an invitation to discuss his son's case without having gone through formal channels.

"We believe that a public admonishment would address the misconduct by Judge Mills in this matter," commission examiner Gary Schons, told a panel consisting of judges, attorneys and members of the public.

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Commission on Judicial Performance weighing whether to discipline Contra Costa judge