“Get A Life” Judge Fined For Fleecing Ex-Wife

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge John A. Trice has been publicly censured by a state watchdog group after it was discovered that he failed to share his military benefits with his ex-wife, per their 1990 divorce agreement. The group also cited a 2013 email Trice sent to a supervisory judge, telling her to “get a life.” Trice was also faulted for failing to disclose a close personal relationship with a criminal defense lawyer who frequently appeared before him. Trice’s behavior is “an affront to the authority and dignity of the judicial system he serves,” the commission wrote. “Our society depends upon our citizens’ compliance with orders, decisions and judgments of our courts. That compliance, in turn, depends upon citizens’ respect for the courts. When a judge fails to comply with a judgment or order of the court, public respect for the institution of the judiciary and the rule of law is undermined.”