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CJP Admonishes Santa Barbara Judge for ‘Poor Demeanor’
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Adams yesterday drew a public admonishment from the Commission on Judicial Performance for his demeanor during a hearing in which he raised his voice, threw off his glasses, and flung moving papers at defense counsel and for a “lack of candor” in saying he was not returning to the bench during an earlier investigation.
The hearing in question took place on Nov. 21 of last year. Adams was presiding over a criminal case when Santa Barbara County Deputy Public Defender Reem Yassin requested a pre-trial diversion for her client.
Yassin, while standing at the podium between counsel tables, began discussing the request with Deputy District Attorney Justin Greene, who opposed the motion.
Referee Between Attorneys
Adams grew impatient with the attorneys, saying “[t]his is not the time that I’m supposed to play referee between public defender and district attorney” and “[i]f you want to have a fistfight with the DA, take it outside.”
After accusing Yassin—who had only been admitted to practice three months prior—of shaking her head at him, Adams said, “I just don’t need this” and flung papers off the bench, landing in front of the podium. Yassin was purportedly so distressed that her superiors sent her home for the week.
Adams sent Ms. Yassin an apology letter in which he acknowledged that his conduct at the Nov. 21 hearing was “inappropriate.”
Yesterday’s “statement of facts and reasons” says:
“The commission determined that Judge Adams’s conduct was discourteous, interfered with the attorney-client relationship, and constituted violations of his duties to be patient, dignified, and courteous to lawyers and others with whom he deals in an official capacity…; to refrain from engaging in speech, gestures, or other conduct that would reasonably be perceived as bias, prejudice, or harassment…; and to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, and refrain from making statements that are inconsistent with the impartial performance of adjudicative duties of judicial office.”
Prior Discipline
The commission said his misconduct was aggravated by prior discipline, having been privately admonished twice—the first time in 1993 for ordering a self-represented family law litigant into custody for two days without holding a contempt hearing and again last year for ex parte communications with a jury foreperson and engaging in speech that would reasonably be perceived as bias, prejudice, or harassment based on gender.
Last year’s private admonition came after Adams asked for leniency based on the fact that he had recently retired. In a response dated April 17, 2023, Adams said:
“After nearly half of a century as a Superior Court judge, Judge Adams’ last day on the bench was April 7, 2023. He is scheduled for hip surgery and his retirement date will be set after calculation of the sick leave and vacation time that he has earned. He will not be returning to the bench.
“Even though Judge Adams made some missteps, Judge Adams hopes that the commission will conclude that, in light of nearly half of a century’s career on the bench and Judge Adams’ retirement, his missteps do not warrant the imposition of discipline.”
Despite his assurances, Adams returned to the bench on May 30, 2023.
The judge said that he did not intend to mislead the commission regarding his retirement but explained that he decided to resume duties after his anticipated hip surgery was delayed several times.
The commission said that “Judge Adams’s unequivocal representations in his 2023 Response—that his last day on the bench was April 7, 2023, and he would not be returning, and that his retirement was imminent—were misleading” and that the “conduct constituted a lack of candor.”
40 Years
Adams, who is 84, has been a judge for the Santa Barbara Superior Court for more than 40 years, having served on the bench since 1983. His current term began in 2021.
Voting in favor of a public admonishment were Chairperson Michael A. Moodian, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench, Kay Cooperman Jue, Richard A. Long, attorney Mani Sheik, and Beatriz E. Tapia.
Trinity Superior Court Judge Michael B. Harper would have referred the matter to be evaluated for formal proceedings. Attorney Rickey Ivie was recused from this matter and Court of Appeal Justice William S. Dato of the Fourth District’s Div. One did not participate.
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