Former Judge James Kaddo
LOS ANGELES - A retired Los Angeles County Superior Court judge was publicly admonished recently over “a pattern of discourteous, undignified and impatient behavior” that took place from 2018 until 2024.
The state’s Commission on Judicial Performance ordered the punishment for retired Judge James A. Kaddo in a decision published on July 15. Kaddo had served on the Superior Court since 1999, and he retired in November 2024.
“Former Judge Kaddo engaged in a pattern of discourteous, undignified and impatient behavior directed at potential jurors, attorneys and parties,” a commission news release states. “In some instances, the judge also conveyed the appearance of embroilment and bias on the basis of gender, sex, race, national origin or ethnicity.”
The misconduct cited by the panel included his addressing of women who appeared before Kaddo as “young lady,” “this lady” or “these ladies” while not using comparable terms for men who appeared before him. In addition, the judge made statements that implied women were overly emotional and told women to “control” themselves, according to the commission.
“Former Judge Kaddo further became embroiled with parties and attorneys, inappropriately argued with counsel, raised his voice on multiple occasions and made discourteous comments (including telling a litigant to ‘shut up’),” the news release said.
The commission also pointed out that Kaddo was privately admonished in 2023 for speaking in a demeaning manner to two self-represented parties during small claims court proceedings. At the end of the trial, the judge responded to a request for a mistrial by saying, “You’re not getting a mistrial. You need another brain,” the public admonishment states.
In an email to the Southern California Record, Kaddo’s attorney, Randall Miller, said the former judge would not be contesting the discipline further. But a statement released on Kaddo’s behalf by Miller Law Associates in Los Angeles said the judge respectfully disagrees with the panel’s findings, contending that the incidents cited do not reflect the complexity of events that played out.
“Most were derived from hand-selected portions of a voluminous court transcript, and years after the proceeding – assuredly an inadequate and imbalanced means of assessing judicial behavior,” the statement on behalf of Kaddo says. It adds that he accepted the commission’s decision.
Kaddo stressed that many of the incidents highlighted by the commission took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was an especially difficult time for judges as they attempted to navigate court closures, case backlogs and shifting safety protocols, including physical distancing, masking and Plexiglas barriers.
“Jury selection became increasingly difficult as hardship claims surged, and the strain on court personnel was intense,” the statement says. “These pressures affected everyone and Judge Kaddo was no exception.”
The judge also acknowledged that the stresses of the time affected his demeanor occasionally.
“Above all, Judge Kaddo urges that this be viewed in light of his decades of honorable service, during which he presided over thousands of matters with diligence, integrity and compassion – and earned the lasting respect and admiration of colleagues and litigants alike,” the Miller Law Associates statement said.
Citing eight cases when commissioners said questionable behavior occurred, the panel argued that Kaddo’s comments reflected “a pattern of intemperate behavior.”