Tulare County judge admonished by CA officials for misconduct, abuse of authority
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- Commission issued public reprimand after judge abused authority with staff.
- Ruling cited forcing Family Court Services director into court and threats.
- Commission found improper cell phone ban, voted overwhelmingly for reprimand.
A Tulare County judge has been admonished by California officials for numerous acts of serious misconduct, including ordering a court employee to appear before her and threatening them with monetary sanctions.
Superior Court Judge Robin L. Wolfe received a public reprimand by the Commission on Judicial Performance on Tuesday, after losing her attempt to contest a tentative public admonishment issued on Sept. 2.
“Judge Wolfe’s misconduct had a detrimental effect on both professional relationships with family court services staff and court administration, and on litigants,” according to a news release from the commission.
In its 18-page decision, the commission listed several acts of misconduct by the judge, most of which involved her treatment of court employees and people appearing before her.
In one instance, Wolfe was accused of requiring the director of Family Court Services to her courtroom to explain why her office had not completed a report that the judge had ordered. Wolfe was contemplating sanctions against the director, but backed off after the report was completed.
The commission found that Wolfe abused her authority by making the director appear in court.
In other cases, Wolfe abused her authority and violated the law by prohibiting a domestic violence advocate from sitting at counsel table and stopping other types of support persons from doing the same. She also summoned another court employee to her courtroom to admonish them and directed them to apologize to a litigant.
Commissioners also chastised the judge for implementing stricter rules on cell phone use than the court allows. In Wolfe’s courtroom, no one is allowed to bring in a cell phone, unless Wolfe grants an exemption. Those with Wolfe-approved exemptions included court staff and attorneys.
Cell phone use was prohibited from litigants, witnesses, audience members and others. Judge Wolfe’s policy was in place from May 2024 to June 2024. But the commission found she went too far.
“The court’s local rules prohibit the use of an electronic device, including a cell phone, while court is in session, unless a party is granted leave to do so by the court. Barring permission to use an electronic device, the local rules provide that all devices must be silenced or turned off while court is in session. The commission found that Judge Wolfe’s policies regarding cell phones, which went well beyond merely requiring that phones be silenced or turned off during court proceedings, reflected an abuse of authority,” according to the commission’s ruling.
Commissioners acknowledged that after the investigation and her appearance before the commission, the judge “generally admitted her mistakes.”
The commission that includes six public members, three judges, and two lawyers overwhelmingly voted for public admonishment. Only one commission member voted to make the admonishment private.
Wolfe was appointed to the bench in 2017 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown.
