The Brief

California’s primary election is Tuesday — and one race poses a challenging question to voters: Should a judge who’s accused of ethics violations by the state watchdog of judges get re-elected?

That’s the situation for Judge Robert Draper, who’s running to keep his seat in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. With about 15 years on the bench, Draper, 84, told LAist he hasn’t had disciplinary issues until now.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance, the state body that oversees judicial complaints, conducted an investigation into complaints and charged Draper with misconduct in office. The commission’s members, who are also the final decision-makers here, won’t make a determination on whether to discipline him until after the primary.

Here’s what you should know about what’s at stake and what could happen next.

A quick primer

Draper was appointed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012. Superior Court judges have to run for reelection after they’ve been appointed. Draper is running for a third full term and is on the ballot for all L.A. County voters under Office No. 2, facing a challenge from Tal Valbuena, a deputy district attorney.

The commission has charged him with seven counts of violating judicial ethics. (The proceedings against him aren’t civil or criminal, but the commission uses similar terminology.) The commission is an 11-member group of judges, lawyers and others who are appointed by the governor, the Legislature and the California Supreme Court.

Draper is currently assigned to “chambers work only.” He and his attorney told LAist Draper's court-issued email account is restricted and his room does not have a computer or staff. He hasn’t heard a case since he returned in June 2023 from an involuntary leave that, according to commission records, was tied to the alleged ethics violations.

Among the allegations Draper is facing:

• Sending nude photos from a confidential child abuse case to colleagues via a court email address, according to commission records.
• Making irrelevant comments about race, including using the term “coal black,” during a case, and calling women in the courthouse “attractive” and “cute,” according to commission records.

A panel of independent “special masters” oversaw a six-day hearing earlier this month on the charges. The special masters are expected to issue a report on their findings within the next several weeks — but a decision on possible disciplinary action still rests with the commission.

According to the commission’s charge document, the allegations against Draper center on willful misconduct in office, failure to perform his duties and actions that affect the judicial office’s reputation. Draper has denied some of the claims and, in an interview with LAist, gave reasons for others.

The commission initially claimed that his behavior was evidence of an unnamed disability that interferes with his duties (which could get judges removed from the bench, if proven), but LAist confirmed that claim has been withdrawn.

Draper told LAist he is navigating health issues. Over the last few years, he’s been prescribed medication that made his Parkinson’s disease worse, he said, and had a detached retina and a rotator cuff injury. He added that he’s also coping with grief — his son died this year shortly before the hearing.

The seven counts Draper faces from the judicial ethics commission cover accusations dated 2022 and 2023. We’ll explore the main ones.

Comments on race

According to records from the judicial performance commission, Draper admitted to making statements that have been called “irrelevant” and “inappropriate” by other judges who reviewed his decisions on a 2023 case.

In February that year, the defense in a sexual harassment case Draper presided over was seeking a new trial. A jury had reached a verdict earlier, putting them on the hook for $10 million.

During a hearing, Draper brought up his personal views on interracial mixing and Black history, according to excerpts of the court transcripts. Draper told LAist these comments were intended to convince the two sides to “make a reasonable settlement.”

According to the transcripts, Draper used the terms “coal black” and “light brown” to describe Black skin tones. Draper defended his statements, telling LAist he viewed the comments as “almost like describing what color dress you’re wearing today.”

“Now, why did I say it? Race was not involved in the case, except that almost everybody was Black,” he said.

The commission said the comments at issue reflected “bias, prejudice, or harassment.” Draper’s written response to the charges said the dialogue had been taken “wholly out of context.” He told LAist he “ wasn’t talking about a bias for or against” and added he “probably won’t use the word ‘black’ ever” again if re-elected.

“Do I imagine I’ll continue to make comments about appearance? No,” he said. “I probably won’t.”

Women in the workplace

The same day of the 2023 hearing, Draper brought the all-women legal team into his chambers, according to records, where he made other comments that the commission alleges violated judicial ethics.

During the conversation, he told them a story about how male attorneys used to tell female secretaries “you better be able to f*** better than you can type.” Draper told LAist his comments have been misconstrued to sound like he was bragging about behavior at his last law firm. In fact, he said, he was referring to how other firms had “that attitude towards secretaries” when he started practicing law.

“I was so proud of the country [because] now it wouldn’t happen at all,” he said.

His comments and other issues ultimately led to the California Court of Appeal to overturn the verdict and order a new trial. Draper is also alleged to have touched a lawyer’s hair during proceedings in that case without reason, which he testified before the special masters hearing did not happen.

Other allegations cited by the commission involve multiple comments Draper has admitted to making about women in the courthouse in 2022 and 2023, according to records and LAist’s interview with him. The commission said these statements violated judicial ethics, which Draper disputes.

In one instance, Draper told his presiding judge she “looked cute” when she was mad, according to records. Another time he called a woman involved in a case before him “quite attractive” in a “global way.”

Draper told LAist the language he used was “not a come-on” and that he was “trying to make them feel good about themselves.”

“ I’m not going to walk around with my handkerchief in my mouth. I can just say, ‘Hey, you’re looking cute today,’ and people understand that,” he said. “But I’m not going to be walking around the court picking out the cute ones and telling them they’re cute.”

Leave, email and other issues

Draper has also been charged with allegedly not following his courthouse leadership’s directives.

When he was placed on involuntary leave in March 2023, according to the commission, Draper continued to do administrative work on cases despite receiving verbal and written directives to not access the courthouse and its resources.

Draper told LAist his supervisors were aware that his work was continuing because he was emailing them about it.

“They understood what I was doing, and they approved it by not speaking up,” he said.

Draper also testified that he wasn’t immediately told not to work while on leave. The commission said Draper wasn’t “candid” when he testified to that.

Judge Robert Draper on the first day of his hearing at the California Court of Appeal building in downtown Los Angeles on April 27.

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Cato Hernández

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The commission also cited problematic emails Draper admitted to sending from his court email address, according to records and his testimony. This included allegations that Draper sent files including nude photos from a confidential court case to people not authorized to receive them under state code.

In June 2023, Draper sent an email to commission staff and other Superior Court judges with various materials, according to records. The attachments included details from a July 2017 confidential child abuse case.

The case involved child sexual abuse allegations with a public figure. Draper emailed nude photos from the case files of children bathing, according to records and his testimony.

One of the recipients of the email with nude photo attachments was retired Judge Lance Ito — best known for presiding over the O.J Simpson murder case in 1995. Ito testified to not being personally acquainted with Draper at the time and called the email “unusual.” Draper testified that the email blast was intended to show his legal contributions and that he is authorized under statute to consult with other judges. He said he copied Ito on the thread because of his leadership role in teaching judges.

Draper also emailed photos of himself “from behind without clothes” to the commission and other judges, according to records. He testified that this was to show his colleagues proof of an injury.

In another charge, the commission said Draper has not cooperated with its ethics inquiry that started in 2022 — such as repeatedly missing deadlines — and has been disrespectful to commission staff. Draper told LAist the commission’s investigation was more like an inquisition because they didn’t interview him before the hearing.

“ That is a big problem with the way the CJP operates,” he said. “They’re not there to help judges. They’re kinda trying to catch judges.”

An endorser speaks out

Kimberly Repecka is one of four judges who have endorsed Draper for re-election. She’s a prior public defender who’s known Draper for about 10 years and testified in his hearing last month.

She told LAist people have latched on to ageist narratives and that his character is being misrepresented. According to Repecka, it’s common for older judges to share “war stories.”

Repecka defended Draper’s reasoning for bringing up race in the sexual harassment case.

“I think most of us most of the time view it exactly how Judge Draper said he intended it: an attempt to connect on a more human level and remind ourselves that there’s a world bigger than the courtroom and case we’re in,” she said.

Repecka told LAist she wouldn’t use the same words he used to talk about skin color in the courtroom. She would be concerned it could cause discomfort.

“ As a white person, I would be pretty careful about how I address that if it seems relevant to the case itself,” she said.

Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School well-versed in judicial ethics, described it as a “real stretch” to view Draper’s comments on race and appearance as appropriate under any circumstances. Levenson said she can’t imagine other judges talking like this.

“There’s a lot of training for judges that has happened in the last decade about how you don’t talk about race unless it is a relevant issue,” she said, “and you especially don’t use some of the terms that Judge Draper was using in these hearings.”

Judges need to watch what they say in a courtroom because they need to not only be fair, but appear to be fair, Levenson said.

“He has the ethical obligation to be impartial and how he demonstrates that he’s being impartial is going to be evaluated by how he acts and what he says in the courtroom,” she said. “If you take his words at face value, there certainly would be reason to question how he’s treating people in that courtroom.”

Levenson has reviewed the hearing’s rough transcripts, the charges and Draper’s filed answer to them. She said it appears the commission “bent over backwards” to  give him a fair chance during their “robust” process.

What comes next 

The next step is for the special masters to put together a report of their conclusions for the commission members, which Draper will have a chance to respond to. The special masters won’t make recommendations about discipline.

That choice rests with the commission members. Remember, they brought these charges against Draper and will decide the outcome, likely in a couple of months. Among the options: The commission members could clear him, admonish or censure him, or remove him from office.

Loyola Marymount University is an underwriting sponsor of LAist. Like other funders, it has no influence on coverage.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman will each have a chance to lay out their plans for tackling L.A.’s biggest environmental issues, and share their longer-term vision for a cleaner and healthier Los Angeles.

And LAist will be asking the questions.

You can listen live from 6 to 8 p.m. here on LAist 89.3 FM and it will also be on our YouTube channel if you prefer to watch live — or watch later.

LAist’s award-winning climate and environmental senior reporter Erin Stone will moderate a free forum being held at L.A. Trade Tech College in downtown L.A. The event is free and open to the public, with tickets available here.

Just don’t expect finger pointing and empty sound bites: the event will take on a fireside chat-style format so that each candidate will have the opportunity to lay out their proposals for making the environment a top priority if they win the election on Nov. 3.

Each candidate will have 45 minutes.

Stone said the evening’s format will allow voters to get a sense of how each candidate feels about crucial environmental issues, such as emergency preparedness and response, oil drilling, the city’s transportation policy, L.A.’s unique water challenges and efforts to transition to clean energy sources — all while trying to maintain affordable utility bills.

“The world’s top scientists are clear that this decade is a critical moment in history to take action to protect future generations from worse climate and environmental harms,” Stone said. “I hope the conversations help voters make the decision that is right for them.”

The event is organized by a coalition of local environmental and environmental justice groups including the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, SCOPE-LA, the Sierra Club, Clean and Healthy California, the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance and Communities for a Better Environment.

Exposition Park’s new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens to the public on Sept. 22 — and LAist got a preview.

The 300,000-square-foot building, designed by architect Ma Yansong, working with the firm Stantec, could easily blend into the scenery of Coruscant or Bespin in the Star Wars universe.

For the fans of that certain long-time ago, far, far-away universe, you are immediately greeted by a Naboo Starfighter big enough to fit inside at the museum entrance with a life-size R2-D2 in the co-pilot seat.

Star Wars fans will definitely get their fill with pieces like this in the cinema section:

Doug Chiang, Podrace Crash, production art for "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," 1995–99. Digital print.

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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You can find designs and set pieces from other George Lucas production companies, Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound, but the museum is dedicated to impactful storytelling of all kinds, with a special focus on the work of illustrators.

“Most of the stories are myths, they're not real, but the illustrations make them real,” George Lucas said at a preview event. “A picture is very powerful, and the stories are very powerful, and you combine them together, and those two elements create a society.”

So, you’ll also see works like this E.H. Shepard illustration from Winnie-the-Pooh in a section dedicated to children’s stories.

E. H. Shepard, “Christopher Robin at the enchanted place,” illustration for Home Chat, 1928.

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And that’s not the only significant work you’ll see there.

 “You can see one of the first historically important ‘dogs playing poker’ paintings made in 1894 as a whiskey advertisement, very close to Frida Kahlo, very close to Batman,” Lucas Museum senior curator Ryan Linkof said.

The museum’s umbrella of “narrative art” encompasses fine art like these works from painter, pro-football player and actor Ernie Barnes, photographer Dorothea Lange, and comic book artist Rafael Navarro:

Ernie Barnes, The Critic’s Corner, 2007. Acrylic on canvas.

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Matt Kroening

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, 1936.

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Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

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Rafael Navarro, art for Sonámbulo: Mexican Stand-Off, 2006.

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Murals and public art

The museum features public art installations — both reproductions of works by Diego Rivera and Banksy.

Three of the featured works by Banksy.

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Matthew Kroening

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You'll also experience an extensive video installation of Judith Baca’s The Great Wall of Los Angeles, which you can take in while sitting instead of having to walk the whole length.

A new green space in the middle of the city

The museum boasts extensive grounds built on a former parking lot. There, you can see a number of sculptures, including one of Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia.

Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia statue.

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“This public park is available and accessible to everyone all the time, even if you don't come to the museum, even if the museum's not open. You can come to the research library,” Linkof said. “It's an asset and a resource for everyone, including and especially the community.”

How to visit

• Location: One Lucas Plaza, Exposition Park, Los Angeles
• Tickets: Timed tickets cost $25 for adults, $21 for seniors and are to free to minors, active-duty military, members and LM37 passholders. See your options ▶
• Park access: Free
• Regular hours:
  Mon, Wed, Thu: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  Fri: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
  Sat: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
  Sun: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  Closed Tuesdays

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman on Wednesday won the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America L.A. in her challenge to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. The DSA-LA is a potent political organization known for mounting successful door-knocking campaigns for candidates for political office.

The endorsement places the resources of DSA-LA to work for Raman in what’s expected to be a close race for mayor, but also opens Raman up to criticism that she’s too far left in her political views for the voters of L.A.

The endorsement came after Raman won more than 60% of the vote in an online election held within the organization over the past week. Of the more than 6,000 members in the L.A. region, 1,400 participated in the vote.

“With Raman at the top of the ticket, DSA-LA is organizing to unite tenants, union members, immigrant communities, and working Angelenos behind a slate that can break corporate interests’ grip on city government,” DSA-LA said in a statement. “Our vision is clear: win office, build a governing majority, and deliver a city working people can afford to call home.”

Raman, a member of the organization, was first elected with its help in an upset victory over an incumbent City Council member in 2020. She was the first of four DSA-LA members elected to the council in recent years.

“A socialist movement with a path to the mayor’s office in Los Angeles should make the political establishment nervous,” said Sean Wakasa, DSA-LA co-chair. “The opportunity in front of us is enormous, and we intend to meet it.”

Raman was not immediately available for comment.

A spokesperson for the Bass campaign did not comment specifically on the endorsement but pointed to some of the issues that surfaced in debates between the candidates, including how to handle homeless encampments and Police Department funding.

"Nithya Raman said kids aren't safer if an encampment is 500 feet away from a school and voted repeatedly to cut basic public safety funding to make LA safer," Alex Stack said. "Those are positions she now fully owns as she tries to flip-flop and convince voters otherwise."

Raman has defended her opposition to a ban on camping next to schools, saying moving them merely shuffles homeless people from one neighborhood to the next.

A 'double-edged sword'

Some voters will likely be turned off by the DSA’s endorsement of Raman, according to USC Political Science Professor Christian Grose.

“The DSA endorsement is definitely a double-edged sword,” he said. “It's going to hurt her with the Pratt voters, who will be decisive potentially in the election.”

Conservative T.V. personality Spencer Pratt finished third in the primary with 26% of the vote.

Grose added that Raman already has come under fire for her association with the DSA-LA.

“So those attacks were kind of happening already,” he said.

Wasaka said Raman nonetheless has a lot of appeal to progressive voters.

“Nithya Raman has had a long history with DSA-LA and has helped pass transformative policies at the city level,” Wasaka said. “Her leadership and progressive vision have aligned with DSA members, and we are excited to canvas for her and help her win.

“We’re knocking on tens of thousands of doors, we’re hosting fundraisers and we’re talking to all of our neighbors and families about how these candidates are going to build political power for the working class.”

The DSA-LA endorsed several other candidates in local elections, including Marissa Roy over John McKinney in the L.A. city attorney’s race.

Raman is a member of the DSA-LA, but was not endorsed in the primary, in part because some members said she didn’t hew closely enough to the party line. Raman, for example, wants to roll back part of the mansion tax, which places an extra tax on the sale of properties worth more than $5.4 million. Raman has said it discourages the building of affordable housing.

Other endorsements

The DSA-LA backing comes on the heels of another big endorsement of Raman from a major labor union. Earlier this week, Unite HERE Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, said it is backing Raman.

“Nithya Raman will fight alongside our members to protect working families, enforce our laws, preserve our housing, and hold corporations like Airbnb accountable when they take desperately needed homes off the market,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.

Political scientist Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles said the union’s endorsement is important.

“I would 10 times more want the endorsement from UNITE HERE that has 30,000 members,” said Guerra. “They are one of the most powerful electoral bodies in terms of mobilization in all of California, especially in Los Angeles.”

Most labor unions back Bass in the election, including the powerful L.A. County Federation of Labor. The Democratic Party and Chamber of Commerce also have endorsed Bass.

Despite speculation earlier this week, a hurricane is not going to hit Southern California this weekend.

Tropical Storm Marie is churning in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles off the coast of Mexico. It’s expected to reach hurricane strength by Thursday morning.

The storm is moving northwest, which is typical for most storms in the eastern Pacific. Forecasters say the chance is extremely minimal that it will veer north.

“The current forecast track is for Marie to continue to move off to the west and northwest, further and further away,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Thompson.

A diagram shows the likely path of Tropical Storm and Hurricane Marie through Monday morning.

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NOAA

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But that doesn’t mean we’ll dodge its effects completely.

Hurricanes can affect weather patterns from afar, and Marie is likely to significantly impact Southern California’s weather and beaches over Labor Day weekend.

Beware dangerous beach conditions

Recent storm surges already have damaged Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach. A storm off the coast now has meteorologists warning of rough beach conditions and high moisture heading into the Labor Day weekend.

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Allen J. Schaben

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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The strongest effects from the storm will be felt along the coast.

 ”Those beach coastal impacts are gonna be the big thing to watch for this weekend,” Thompson said. “You're going to have a large and southeast southerly swell moving into the coastal waters from the hurricane.”

Forecasters are warning that the swell will come with dangerously strong rip currents and big waves, especially along south-facing beaches. It could also bring the potential for coastal flooding.

The swell's peak will probably hit Sunday and Monday.

Surf along the Southern California coast has already been high this summer. Last weekend, the conditions, combined with large beach crowds, led to more than 1,200 ocean rescues by L.A. County lifeguards. With temperatures soaring, more than 1 million people went to L.A. County beaches last weekend.

And with the holiday this weekend, large crowds are likely to return to the beaches, potentially putting more people in the path of even more dangerous ocean conditions.

If you do plan to go to the beach, the safest option is to stay near occupied lifeguard posts and heed lifeguard warnings. Also, stay off of jetties and coastal rocks.

If you’re caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shoreline. Once you stop feeling the current’s pull, swim at an angle away from the current and toward the shore. If needed, tread water and wave for help.

National Weather Service safety tips on how to move out of a rip current safely.

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The ocean conditions this weekend are also coming after high surf and tides have already caused significant coastal erosion ahead of this winter’s El Niño.

Moisture incoming

Marie will also bring a surge of moisture to Southern California, which means beaches will likely be socked in by tropical cloud cover.

It also means there will be a chance of rain across the region.

But at most, the rain will be light, with about a 50% chance of half an inch or less. Forecasters do not expect precipitation to be heavy enough to cause mudslides or hydrate vegetation in any significant way.

However, there is still some uncertainty among forecasters when it comes to the amount of rain and strength of the storm — they could vary if the storm’s path shifts even slightly.

“ That's what we're watching very closely in the next several days,” Thompson said. “If the forecast does seem to change over the next couple of days, it's because the track of the storm would have changed.”

If the storm veers slightly closer to North America, Thompson said the amount of rain and severity of ocean conditions would increase. If it veers the other direction, they would decrease.