Thursday, October 25, 2018
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Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ernest Hiroshige Draws Public Admonishment From CJP
Disciplinary Body Says He Continued Having His Clerk Preside Over Case Management Conferences Despite 2010 Private Scolding
By a MetNews Staff Writer
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ERNEST HIROSHIGE Los Angeles Superior Court Judge |
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ernest M. Hiroshige yesterday drew a public admonishment by the Commission on Judicial Performance for delegating to his court clerk the responsibility for conducting case management conferences.
“The judge has continued to engage in this practice despite the private admonishment he received in 2010 addressing, in part, such conduct,” the CJP’s “Statement of Facts and Reasons” set forth.
It added:
“The judge’s prior discipline was a significant factor in the commission’s decision to issue this public admonishment.”
The commission’s annual report for 2010 said of the private admonishment:
“A judge delegated responsibility to conduct case management conferences to the judge’s clerk. On one occasion, the judge used stationary imprinted with the judge’s official title and court address to advance the judge’s personal interests. The judge also used the judge’s official title and court address on the judge’s personal checks.”
Posting of Notice
The commission yesterday noted that in the aftermath of the 2010 private admonishment, Hiroshige posted in his courtroom a notice advising that the “clerk will meet & confer with counsel/parties and attempt to schedule dates in court that are agreeable to all parties” and in the event of disagreement, “please request to discuss the issue with the court.”
The CJP declared:
“As noted in Judge Hiroshige’s 2010 private admonishment, Judge Hiroshige’s practice violates canon 3B(1), which requires a judge to ‘hear and decide all matters assigned to the judge except those in which he or she is disqualified.” (Italics added.) Improper delegation of judicial responsibilities to the court clerk constitutes misconduct.”
It added that the conduct “was, at a minimum, improper action and dereliction of duty.”
The commission remarked:
“Judge Hiroshige’s practice of having his clerk meet with parties and counsel and convey his decisions in court gives the appearance that the clerk, rather than the judge, is running the court.”
Robing Room Comments
Several attorneys commenting on the Robing Room, an Internet forum for evaluations of judges, have indicated an impression that staff members run Hiroshige’s courtroom. Typical among the comments are these:
•“[The research attorney] routinely crosses the line into advocacy by including arguments not even raised in the opposing papers to justify her asinine rulings. And the “judge” is either too stupid or too lazy (I think it’s both) to care or do anything about it.” Sept. 14, 2018.
•“The Judicial Assistant is the one running the courtroom and lawyers even call HIM the judge. Judge never comes out. Someone needs to report both of them.” July 11, 2018.
•“He is routinely 1.5 to 2 hours late for EVERY hearing, rarely reads the papers, and employs perhaps the rudest court clerk (and staff) in the entire Los Angeles Superior Court system.” June 25, 2018.
•“Courtroom assistant is a human dumpster fire. Rude to everyone, but based on Judge Hiroshige’s attitude, she has a mentor and enabler.” Aug. 22, 2017.
•“His Courtroom Assistant is like a freaking dictator and runs the courtroom as if it is her fiefdom. These people are absolutely miserable.” April 26, 2017.
•“[L]ets his clerks run his courtroom during his chronic absences and extreme tardiness.” July 6, 2016.
There are 24 comments on Hiroshige from attorneys, going back to 2010, only two of the reviews of his performance being favorable. The oldest comment, posted Sept. 30, 2010, says:
“This guy doesn’t like to work, which means that his clerk/research attorney rules the roost, while he sits placidly on the bench. One of my least favorite judges, because he’s not really there.”
Four comments from non-attorneys are also derogatory.
Election Opponents
Hiroshige, 73, was appointed to the South Bay Municipal Court on Feb. 12, 1980, and elevated to the Superior Court on Feb. 8, 1982. He faced two opponents in the June 8, 1982 primary election, and barely avoided a run-off.
He garnered 51.57 percent of the vote, with South Bay Municipal Court Judge Thomas Foye drawing 26.66 percent of the ballots, with the remaining 21.58 percent going to Workers Compensation Judge Elana Sullivan.
In explaining why he targeted Hiroshige, Foye told the MetNews:
“He’s been on our court two years. He’s well demonstrated his inability to do the work.
“He is very, very, very slow. He has a problem in making a decision.”
Hiroshige responded that he did not recall Foye ever watching him in his courtroom, and called the allegation “very irresponsible,” adding:
“Judge Foye has never been elevated for 14 years. The fact that I got elevated is a factor, I’m sure, of some discomfort to him.
“It’s kind of infuriating that others get elevated before himself.”
Foye is now deceased and Sullivan is on inactive bar status.
Hiroshige, whose 1970 law degree is from Hastings College of Law, was a Los Angeles deputy district attorney for nine years prior to his appointment to the Municipal Court.
He was president of the Japanese American Bar Association of the Greater Los Angeles Area in 1978 and was the group’s founding treasurer in 1977.
In 1979, Hiroshige was secretary of the Minority Bar Associations of Los Angeles.
He was president of the California Oriental Peace Officers Association in 1974.
The judge was born in Aug, 13, 1945, in a World War II relocation camp in Arkansas. He became a child actor.
Hiroshige, who has an undergraduate degree from UCLA, received that institution’s 2017 Public Service Award. He was presented with its Community Service Award in 1994.
The judge was founding president of the Asian Pacific Alumni of UCLA and was on the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1995-97.
He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Hastings Alumni Association’s Los Angeles chapter in 1982.
Copyright 2018, Metropolitan News Company