Contra Costa County judge accused again of misconduct

A Contra Costa County judge was accused of misconduct by the California Commission on Judicial Performance on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. A Contra Costa County judge was accused of misconduct by the California Commission on Judicial Performance on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close Contra Costa County judge accused again of misconduct 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

A veteran Contra Costa County judge with an extensive record of discipline was accused by the state Commission on Judicial Performance on Tuesday of further misconduct in two criminal cases.

But a lawyer for Superior Court Judge Bruce Mills accused the commission of a conflict of interest because the defendant Mills sentenced in one of the cases has publicly accused the commission of covering up judicial misconduct. The defendant, Joseph Sweeney, who heads an organization called Court Reform LLC, has been among the most prominent voices in a campaign that has led the state auditor to begin a probe of the commission’s operations.

“I think it’s outrageous that the commission, with a clear conflict of interest, would bring charges against Judge Mills rather than referring the matter ... to an independent body,” said the attorney, James A. Murphy. “If a judge did what the Commission on Judicial Performance did, the judge would be subject to discipline.”

The commission’s executive director, Victoria Henley, declined to comment.

Mills, 62, a former prosecutor,was appointed to the bench by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1995 and has been elected by county voters to a succession of six-year terms, most recently in 2014.

The commission privately reprimanded him in 2001 for ignoring a defendant’s request for a lawyer and trying to coerce the defendant to plead guilty. It publicly reprimanded him again in 2006 for making “discourteous” and “demeaning” comments to people appearing in his court. Mills was reprimanded again in 2013 for contacting a juvenile court judge who was hearing a case against Mills’ son.

In one of the new allegations, the commission said Mills sentenced Sweeney, who had been found in contempt of court by another judge in a family law case, to 25 days in jail in August 2016 but told him and his lawyer he could get the sentence cut in half for good behavior. But Mills imposed the sentence without half-time credits, told the sheriff’s office not to reduce Sweeney’s term, and relented only when Sweeney’s lawyer contacted him nine days later, the commission said.

In the second case, the commission said, while a jury in Mills’ court was deliberating drunken-driving charges in March 2016, the judge met privately with the prosecutor, talked about his own experience prosecuting such cases, and mentioned data that might be used to help the prosecution.

The jury deadlocked, but Mills did not remove himself from the case until the district attorney’s office disclosed the private conversation, the commission said.

Murphy, the judge’s lawyer, said the charges of misconduct in both cases were unfounded.

“Bruce Mills has had a bull’s-eye on his back with the Commission on Judicial Performance,” Murphy said. “They’ve been after him for years and years for petty things.”

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko