Judge Told Jury Pools to Lie About Racial Bias

A Placer County, California judge who told jurors to lie about their racial biases to get out of jury duty told the state's Commission on Judicial Performance on Wednesday he did not deserve to be punished for his behavior. Judge Joseph O'Flaherty said his mistake amounted to legal error, but was not misconduct, as the CJP alleges, said James Murphy, who represents the judge. "I thought [the hearing] went reasonably well under the circumstances," said the Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney partner. The CJP filed misconduct charges against O'Flaherty last year, after the Third District Court of Appeal reversed two convictions from his courtroom. One case involved a black defendant; the other, an Iranian. During voir dire in both trials, O'Flaherty told jurors that racism did not belong in his courtroom. However, acknowledging that to admit bias would be difficult, he gave permission to people to use another excuse to get off the jury. A special masters' report in the case said O'Flaherty's actions interfered with the rights of the defendants, but that the judge did not act in bad faith. The CJP has 90 days to decide whether to discipline O'Flaherty. [more ]