Judge loses seat over expense list

The judge who made the controversial decision to dismiss the case against a man accused of disrupting a 2006 Costa Mesa City Council meeting on a technicality has been ordered removed from the bench on an unrelated incident by a state judicial commission.

Judge Kelly A. MacEachern was ordered removed from her position as a judge at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach on Thursday by a majority of the California Commission on Judicial Performance.

Seven members of the 11-person panel ruled that MacEachern’s “intentionally false and misleading statements” to court officials about expenses she listed for reimbursement following a 2006 legal conference in San Diego and her failure to express contrition warranted her removal.

MacEachern was accused of trying to receive reimbursements from the state for hotel rental fees when she was attending a conference. She lied when she said she attended classes during her hotel stay to justify the reimbursements, according to the commission.

“The lack of integrity manifested by her misconduct, compounded by her lack of candor in response to the commission’s investigation and deceitful testimony” compelled the panel to remove her to maintain public trust and faith in the judiciary, the commission said.

MacEachern threw out misdemeanor charges against Benito Acosta in fall 2007 after it was revealed the prosecutor, Dan Peelman, was not sworn in as a public prosecutor when the charges were filed.

Acosta was arrested at the Jan. 3, 2006, Costa Mesa City Council meeting after urging the opposition, against the admonishment of then-Mayor Allan Mansoor, to stand up in the council chambers to show opposition against the city’s plan to enforce immigration laws.

The commission’s decision Thursday has no bearing on the Acosta case, which the city is appealing.

While the panel did not question her behavior inside the courtroom (she has no prior disciplinary record), it did question her character, saying that her conduct during the investigation “portrays a lack of integrity” and they are left with “no confidence in her ability to reform.”

In MacEachern’s most recent oral presentation, the commission wrote, she finally expressed an appreciation for the seriousness of her misconduct and limited responsibility for her actions.

The commission concluded, “Contrition at her last opportunity has limited impact in comparison with well over a year of misrepresentations and excuses...Simply put, Judge MacEachern’s purported acceptance of responsibility is too little too late.”

Three judges dissented, arguing that while her conduct was reprehensible, it did not warrant removal. One judge recused himself from the decision.

MacEachern has 30 days to appeal the decision.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].