Robert Draper

Introduction

Robert Draper, an 84-year-old judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, was removed from office by the California Commission on Judicial Performance, the state’s judicial disciplinary watchdog, in an order made public on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 . The commission’s 87-page decision found nine instances of willful misconduct, eight instances of prejudicial misconduct and one instance of improper action across a yearslong pattern of behavior toward attorneys, fellow judges and courthouse employees . The findings included making sexually explicit comments to female attorneys, directing racially charged remarks at a Black attorney in his courtroom, and improperly emailing confidential juvenile dependency records that contained photographs of naked minors — along with a nude photograph of Draper himself . Draper disputes the findings and says he will ask the California Supreme Court to review them .

Background Information

Draper was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012 and subsequently won two six-year terms . Colleagues began expressing concern about his decline in 2022, and in 2023 he was barred from hearing cases and reassigned to a department at the Santa Monica Courthouse that colleagues likened to a “closet”; staff there told a Times reporter he almost never came in . In letters to the commission in 2022 and 2023, two of the court’s top judges accused him of sending colleagues abusive emails replete with racist language — then-Presiding Justice Samantha Jessner wrote he was “unable to carry out the duties and responsibilities of a judge,” and Judge Eric Taylor wrote, “He has demonstrated a flagging handle on reality” . In June 2026 he lost his bid for another term to former Deputy Dist. Atty. Tal K. Valbuena by nearly 13 points, after the Los Angeles County Bar Association rated him “not qualified” .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Removed from office by the state’s judicial watchdog. The account below comes from the Commission on Judicial Performance’s decision and order as summarized by the New York Post, Courthouse News and the Los Angeles Times. This was judicial-discipline proceedings, not a criminal case: Draper has not been charged with a crime, and he disputes the commission’s findings, calling its ruling “wrong” and saying he will seek California Supreme Court review .

Among the incidents examined was a February 2023 posttrial hearing in a sexual harassment lawsuit, where a Black attorney appeared in his courtroom for the first time and Draper launched into an unsolicited discussion of Black football quarterbacks, interracial marriage, racial segregation in the South and President Lyndon Johnson’s role in passing the Civil Rights Act . The commission called the remarks “irrelevant and gratuitous” and found they were conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brought the judicial office into disrepute, though they did not rise to willful misconduct . Court records and testimony from his six-day removal hearing also alleged that he stroked a female lawyer’s hair during the same period, after a tangent to a Black attorney about “Black history, Black football players, the Civil Rights Act, and the Black Lives Matter movement” unrelated to the case .

The sexual findings concerned comments he made to two female attorneys in his chambers, where he recalled lawyers at his former law firm telling their secretaries, “you better be able to f— better than you can type” — the remark the Post’s headline flagged as the “unbelievable sexual comment” about secretaries . Investigators also found he mistreated female court employees and a female presiding judge, and that his conduct could reasonably be perceived as gender bias . The confidential-records finding involved a group email Draper sent to colleagues, retired judges and commission staff containing juvenile dependency records with photographs of naked minors; another email included a photograph of himself, taken from behind, while naked . The commission additionally found he improperly communicated with an attorney involved in the sexual harassment case and falsely claimed the watchdog had requested a review of his handling of the trial .

His conduct escalated after he recused himself from that case in March 2023: despite the recusal, he later presided over a hearing on an effort to disqualify him and threatened to report the attorneys seeking his removal to the State Bar of California . “Judge Draper acted in bad faith because he had previously recused himself from the case and he knew he had no power to make further rulings,” the commission concluded, noting a recusal is irrevocable and leaves no power to act . “Judge Draper persistently violated the standards governing judicial behavior and engaged in extensive and severe misconduct,” the commission said, adding that his misconduct “reflected either a concerning lack of familiarity with ethical precepts, or an unwillingness to conform to those precepts” .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The Post promoted the story on X with the headline framing “Top California judge’s naked email exposed after he went on vile racial rants - and the unbelievable sexual comment he made about secretaries” . The removal is one of the rarest outcomes in California judicial discipline: the commission has ordered the removal of only 14 judges statewide since 2002, according to its website . The order was signed by commission chairperson Lisa B. Lench, and at the time of his removal Draper was assigned to the Santa Monica Courthouse . The commission said his misconduct was aggravated by his refusal to accept responsibility and his lack of insight or remorse, and that testimony during the proceedings raised questions about his honesty — while testifying at his May removal hearing, he referred to two specific Black people as “very black in terms of pigmentation” and “way Black” . In a formal response filed in February, Draper disputed the allegations, arguing the charges “were contrary to all credible evidence and/or taken wholly out of context,” and his attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment . Earlier this year he had compared the commission to the “Russian mafia” and denied wrongdoing, calling the charges political payback .

Current Status

The removal order was made public on November 10, 2026, and takes effect in 30 days; Valbuena, who won the June election for the seat, takes office in January . Draper’s term would otherwise have ended on January 4 . In an email to the Times after the ruling, Draper wrote that the commission’s ruling was “wrong” and that he plans to seek review from the California Supreme Court, which he said “will look at the actual facts and not simply the characterization of those facts by the Examiners” . No criminal charges have been filed against him in connection with any of the conduct described in the decision, and the findings above are the commission’s, contested by Draper, not adjudicated in a criminal court .

Impact on Their Career/Life

The removal ends a 14-year judicial career that had already effectively wound down: after 2023 Draper was barred from hearing cases, relegated to the Santa Monica courthouse room colleagues called a “closet,” and his June re-election loss meant his time on the bench was ending regardless . The commission’s decision now makes the exit an official removal for extensive and severe misconduct rather than a quiet departure, a distinction only 13 other California judges have carried since 2002 . His announced bid for California Supreme Court review is the last open thread; this page tracks whether the state’s high court takes it .

Sources

NY Post, “LA County judge removed from office over sexual and racist remarks,” November 11, 2026 — source
@nypost on X, “Top California judge’s naked email exposed after he went on vile racial rants - and the unbelievable sexual comment he made about secretaries,” November 11, 2026 — source
Courthouse News Service, “LA County Judge Robert Draper removed for willful misconduct,” November 10, 2026 — source
Los Angeles Times (James Queally), “L.A. judge who compared state oversight board to ‘Russian mafia’ removed from office,” November 10, 2026 — source
Just the News (The Center Square), “LA County judge, 84, removed after alleged misconduct, inappropriate comments,” November 10, 2026 — source
ABA Journal, “Judge removed for engaging in ’extensive and severe misconduct’,” November 10, 2026 — source