Defendant-Hugging Judge Cost Cal. Taxpayers $100,000

Lassen County Superior Court Judge Tony R. Mallery was among several judges who collectively cost the state of California more than half a million dollars in sexual harassment claims settlements in the past seven years, according to an L.A. Times investigation. Mallery stood accused of screaming and yelling at female employees and hugging a defendant in open court. The state paid $100,000 to settle a federal lawsuit brought against him. Judge Valeriano Saucedo was removed from the bench for inappropriate behavior with his court clerk, after The Commission on Judicial Performance found that he pressed her to be his “special friend,” gave her $26,000 in gifts and cash and lied about his behavior to investigators. In addition to the settlements, the Judicial Council, the rule-making body for the court system, reported spending $79,750 since 2010 for outside investigators to look into sexual harassment allegations or other complaints against judges. The $500,000 – plus that the Council reported spending is probably less than the actual cost to taxpayers because county courts can resolve such cases themselves without reporting to the statewide council.