State Chief Justice Lucas’ Travels Did Not Violate Ethics, Panel Says

The California Commission on Judicial Performance announced Friday that it found “no basis” for disciplining California Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas for traveling extensively or accepting reimbursement for his trips.

In a prepared statement, the commission said it would close its probe into whether Lucas’ travels violated ethics or affected court productivity.

Lucas asked for the investigation after the San Francisco Chronicle reported in November that he had spent 53 week days out of state in 1992 to attend a variety of legal conferences and events.

Lucas accepted reimbursement for two of those trips from a subsidiary of a corporation that has had cases before the court. But Lucas voted against the corporation’s interests in two cases that came before the court after the trips.

After interviewing witnesses and reviewing records, the commission said it did not find that Lucas’ absences interfered with court productivity. Indeed, the commission said that participation in activities about the administration of justice is part of the constitutional duties of a chief justice.

The commission said also that it is not improper for a judge to accept reimbursement for travel expenses to participate in events. Lucas’ judgment was not affected by his acceptance of expenses nor did he create an appearance of impropriety, the commission said.