Amid anger over the short sentence a Santa Clara, Calif., judge gave Stanford swimmer-turned-sex-offender Brock Turner, another California judge is also coming under scrutiny.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Scott Steiner was reelected Tuesday despite being reprimanded two years ago for having sex with an intern and an attorney in his chambers.
Steiner defeated prosecutor Karen Schatzle by approximately 12.5 percent of the votes cast, the Los Angeles Times reported.
During the campaign, Schatzle had slammed Steiner over the sex scandal.
“Scott Steiner has made a mockery of what our community expects of our Judiciary,” she said on her website. “I feel strongly that the public should be made aware, and that integrity be restored to his position. His actions not only violated the Judicial Canons that he took an oath to uphold, but betrayed the people he vowed to serve.”
[‘You took away my worth.’ A sexual assault victim speaks to a former Stanford student]
Steiner, who is married and has two young children, admitted to having sex in his chambers with his intern and with an attorney practicing in Orange County Superior Court — both former law school students of his — in early 2012.
He had sex with the attorney in his chambers during the work day on at least two occasions, although not while court was in session, according to California’s Commission on Judicial Performance.
“Engaging in sexual intercourse in the courthouse is the height of irresponsible and improper behavior by a judge,” the Commission wrote in its decision to censure Steiner.
“It reflects an utter disrespect for the dignity and decorum of the court and is seriously at odds with a judge’s duty to avoid conduct that tarnishes the esteem of the judicial office in the public’s eye,” continued the Commission’s report. “In addition, by engaging in sexual activity in chambers during court hours, Judge Steiner risked exposing court employees who might overhear or otherwise become aware of the libidinous conduct to a hostile work environment.”
Around the same time that Steiner slept with his intern, he wrote her a letter of recommendation for a position with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, where Steiner used to work, according to the Commission. When the intern was not called back for a second interview, Steiner called the DA’s office and asked what happened.
“Well, I guess writing a letter of recommendation means nothing,” he said to a former colleague after being told that the intern did not pass her first interview, according to the Commission’s report.
“He sounded perplexed and irritated,” the Commission wrote, noting that he also called another attorney in the DA’s office to ask about the intern’s application.
The Commission wrote that Steiner’s conduct with his intern had violated several ethics rules and brought “the judiciary into disrepute.”
The Commission also criticized Steiner’s involvement with the attorney. Although Steiner disqualified himself from cases in which she appeared before him, he also assigned those cases to other judges — against court rules. At the same time, the Commission found no evidence to support media reports that Steiner traded those assignments for sex.
“There was a lack of evidence of any such ‘quid pro quo’ arrangement and an insufficient basis for further proceedings regarding the nature of the relationship,” the Commission reported.
Both the female attorney and the intern were students of Steiner’s at Chapman University’s law school, where he was a part-time instructor.
The Commission also criticized Steiner for not disqualifying himself in a case where a close friend of his represented one of the parties.
Despite admitting to multiple sexual liaisons in his judicial chambers, Steiner ran for reelection on a platform stressing “the importance of family.”
“As a husband and father of two young daughters, I realize how important family is to me in my life,” he says in one campaign video.
Steiner apologized to his family shortly after the affairs ended, O.C. Weekly reported.
According to the newspaper, Steiner is a “longtime conservative, Republican Party activist.” His campaign website features a photo of a young Steiner shaking the hand of Ronald Reagan.
“President Ronald Reagan has always been an influential role model for Judge Steiner,” reads the caption under the photo.
After his reelection, Steiner posted a comment to his campaign’s Facebook page thanking his supporters.
“It has been an honor working for the people of Orange County,” he wrote. “Thank you for supporting me in my efforts to protect victims’ rights. With the will of the voters, I will continue my work as a Judge of the Orange County Superior Court for a second term. I am humbled by all of the encouragement I have received leading up to Election Day returns. Once again, thank you for re-electing me to a second term on the bench. I vow to keep working hard for justice.”
Steiner was elected to the California state courts in 2010, according to his website. The voting this week was the first time he has been up for reelection since he was disciplined by the California Commission on Judicial Performance in 2014.
Steiner’s victory came on the same day that Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky was reelected without opposition in northern California.
Persky has been widely criticized for sentencing Turner, an Olympic hopeful convicted of three felony sexual assault charges, to six months in jail and three years probation.
Turner faced up to 14 years in prison for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman after a frat party on Stanford’s campus in Palo Alto. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of six years.
Critics have launched a campaign to recall Persky from office.
Read also:
‘Repugnant’ — or ‘fair’? Debate erupts over judge’s decision in Stanford sexual assault case
‘A steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action’: Dad defends Stanford sex offender
