Retired Judge Denies State Accusations of Misconduct

A retired Glendale judge denied that he should have disqualified himself from two traffic cases involving friends of his former campaign manager while he was on the bench, according to a document filed Wednesday with the state’s judicial discipline agency.

James R. Simpson also denied, in his six-page answer to disciplinary charges, that he improperly tried to influence two court commissioners and a Glendale police officer to give favorable treatment to friends while serving as a judge.

Last month, the state Commission on Judicial Performance filed six counts of ethics violations against Simpson, who, if found guilty of misconduct, could be barred from handling cases as a temporary judge.

Special masters appointed by the commission set a hearing date for the case.

Simpson denied all the allegations, including one that he violated ethics rules when he recalled a bench warrant in 1995 for Allen Brandstater, who had managed Simpson’s judicial campaign a year earlier.

The commission also alleged that Simpson acted unethically when he asked Commissioner Steven K. Lubell about a $135 citation for driving an unregistered vehicle issued to one of Brandstater’s friends. Another allegation involved Simpson rescheduling a court date for Brandstater’s friend after she failed to show up in court to defend a traffic ticket for allegedly running a red light in 1999.

Simpson, 66, was granted disability retirement from the Los Angeles County Superior Court in December. A former deputy district attorney, Simpson was elected to the Glendale Municipal Court in 1994 and elevated to the Superior Court in January 2000 when the courts were unified.