Besieged Judge Details Sick-Leave Activities

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge under investigation for logging more than 400 sick days in the last four years said he attended a Caribbean medical school, taught at a law school and enrolled in chiropractor college during a portion of the sick time, documents show.

Judge Patrick B. Murphy made the disclosure this week in a written response to allegations by the state Commission on Judicial Performance, which is investigating the 45-year-old jurist for alleged misconduct, failure to perform duties and dereliction of duty.

Murphy denies any wrongdoing, saying he is physically disabled and was not faking any illness. He maintains that at one stage he decided to pursued an alternative career in medicine because he was too sick to continue hearing cases.

The commission began the probe after The Times reported in March that Murphy had registered at the Caribbean medical school while on sick leave from the bench.

Murphy, who has been absent from the bench since June because of an undisclosed medical condition, continues to draw his $118,000 annual salary. He could be removed if the commission rules that his conduct violated judicial ethics.

In a series of allegations filed last month commission officials accused Murphy of engaging in activities “that constitute a failure to give judicial duties precedence over all other activities” while taking sick leave.

In his response, the jurist acknowledged attending the Ross University Medical School in Dominica for two weeks in January; taking premed classes last fall at Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles; and teaching night classes at Glendale University College of Law and the Baldwin Park Police Department Citizens Academy.

Murphy, however, said his medical condition may allow him to take classes and teach but impairs his sitting on the bench. He said he left the medical school because his “symptoms were so exacerbated that this futile attempt had to be curtailed after two weeks.”

Murphy said he had to reschedule many of the law classes because of illness and that teaching at the Citizens Academy was “non-stressful.”

The judge said that he did the “ethical thing” by staying off the bench and that several doctors, including one selected by the commission, have concluded that he is disabled. He said his physician has asked that the judge be considered permanently disabled.

The commission alleges that on the medical school registration form he signed, Murphy “stated he had no disabilities that would interfere with the study or practice of medicine.”

While on sick leave, Murphy taught at least 16 days at the law school in 1996, 1997 and 1998, as well as a week of night classes in March 1999 at the Baldwin Park academy, according to commission allegations.

In addition, the commission said, he appeared for five days of depositions while absent from work.

Those depositions were part of a federal lawsuit, which alleged that he and others had conspired to conceal $1.8 million from the former wife of a friend of the judge. The suit was settled earlier this year, with Murphy’s sister contributing toward the $800,000 settlement but the judge paying nothing.

The allegations in the suit remain the subject of an inquiry by the U.S. attorney’s office. Murphy, through a lawyer, has denied any wrongdoing, saying others tried to blame him for their misdeeds. His judicial fate now rests with a special panel of appeals court judges. A hearing before the judges was delayed last month and has yet to be rescheduled.