Judge Censured for Courtroom Misconduct

A Superior Court judge was censured by a state commission Wednesday for locking up a rape witness who changed her story, as well as violating the rights of others who appeared in his court without lawyers.

The Commission on Judicial Performance said it disciplined Judge Fred Heene after he agreed not to dispute allegations of misconduct in nine cases.

“The nine incidents in slightly less than two years are not isolated, unrelated incidents of misconduct,” the commission said in an 8-0 decision. “In every instance, Judge Heene failed to respect the rights of unrepresented individuals.”

Heene, 52, based in Chino, was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1992 after specializing as a lawyer in criminal, probate and elder law cases. Heene was unavailable for comment.

In a July 1996 preliminary hearing, the commission said, the alleged victim in a rape case testified that she had not told the truth to police. Heene ordered her jailed after her testimony, saying she had admitted a crime.

Heene ordered another woman to jail in a 1997 case for failing to perform community service after a traffic conviction--disregarding her explanation that she had been bedridden during pregnancy and failing to advise her of her rights, the commission said.

He convicted a driver of speeding in a 1997 trial after refusing to let him cross-examine the police officer, a conviction overturned on appeal.