LOS ANGELES : Felony Sex Charges Against Ex-Judge Reduced

Felony charges against a former judge accused of fondling a female lawyer in his chambers were reduced to misdemeanors this week.

Stanley Samuel Feinstein, who has been fired from his job as a workers’ compensation judge, was originally charged with felony false imprisonment and felony sexual battery.

Municipal Court Judge Mary E. Waters instead ordered him to stand trial on misdemeanor charges of unlawful touching and false imprisonment. Defense attorneys had argued that the alleged conduct did not warrant felony charges. The prosecution disagreed.

“I feel his conduct rose to the level of a felony violation,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Straughn. Defense attorney Philip D. Israels called the evidence flimsy.

The complaint was made against Feinstein, 61, by a 40-year-old attorney.

She testified at the preliminary hearing that Feinstein invited her to his office in the Van Nuys State Office Building on March 28 to give her the next date of a lecture series they had previously attended. She said that as she was leaving, Feinstein told her to close the door because he had something else to tell her, and when she did, he pushed his body up against her and reached inside her clothes.

She said she struggled free, grabbed her briefcase and left. State officials fired Feinstein in April after he refused to cooperate with an internal investigation.