J Anthony Kline

The California Commission on Judicial Performance has decided to dismiss controversial charges against state appeals court Judge J. Anthony Kline, according to sources close to the commission. Last July, the commission announced that it had launched disciplinary proceedings against Kline because of a dissent he had written.

A state watchdog agency dismissed misconduct charges Thursday against Court of Appeal Justice J. Anthony Kline for failing to follow a precedent in a court dissent. "We recognize that appellate jurists deal with legal principles and ideas," said the order by the Commission on Judicial Performance, approved on an 8-1 vote with two abstentions.

A veteran state appeals court judge Friday formally denied charges by the state Commission on Judicial Performance that he had committed "willful misconduct" by writing a dissent saying that he would not adhere to a controversial California Supreme Court decision. Justice J. Anthony Kline of San Francisco also contended that his actions did not constitute conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, dereliction of duty or violation of the Code of Judicial Ethics.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance has decided to dismiss controversial charges against state appeals court Judge J. Anthony Kline, according to sources close to the commission. Last July, the commission announced that it had launched disciplinary proceedings against Kline because of a dissent he had written.

A state watchdog agency dismissed misconduct charges Thursday against Court of Appeal Justice J. Anthony Kline for failing to follow a precedent in a court dissent. "We recognize that appellate jurists deal with legal principles and ideas," said the order by the Commission on Judicial Performance, approved on an 8-1 vote with two abstentions.

The American Bar Assn., the nation's largest lawyers organization, urged the California Commission on Judicial Performance on Thursday to withdraw charges of "willful misconduct" that it filed this month against a veteran state appeals court judge.

A newly reconstituted state judicial watchdog panel--now dominated by Democrats--has taken the first step toward dismissing misconduct charges against an appeals court judge accused of flouting the law in a court dissent. California Court of Appeal Justice J. Anthony Kline, appointed to the bench by then-Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr., was charged last year with misconduct for writing in a dissent that he would not follow a controversial California Supreme Court ruling.

A bill to curb the powers of the state's Commission on Judicial Performance has sailed through an Assembly committee--a move that both the commission and its opponents see as a reaction against its investigation of a well-known state appellate judge. The measure would sharply limit the commission's power to discipline a judge in cases like that faced by Justice J. Anthony Kline of San Francisco. The bill now appears to be on a fast track toward legislative approval, although Gov.

After nine years of hearing family law cases in her Santa Monica courtroom, Jill Robbins was tired--tired of schlepping files home every night, tired of yapping litigants who didn't really understand the process, tired of not being appreciated, tired of earning the equivalent of a junior lawyer's pay. "I wasn't enjoying myself," Robbins says, with considerable understatement.

Gov. Pete Wilson has vetoed legislation that would have prohibited a judge from being disciplined for a legally flawed or rebellious opinion. The bill by Assemblywoman Martha Escutia (D-Bell) was prompted by disciplinary charges against Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline of the 1st District Court of Appeal. Kline was former Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr.'s legal affairs advisor. In a dissenting opinion last December, Kline refused to follow a 1992 ruling by the state Supreme Court.

A newly reconstituted state judicial watchdog panel--now dominated by Democrats--has taken the first step toward dismissing misconduct charges against an appeals court judge accused of flouting the law in a court dissent. California Court of Appeal Justice J. Anthony Kline, appointed to the bench by then-Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr., was charged last year with misconduct for writing in a dissent that he would not follow a controversial California Supreme Court ruling.

A veteran state appeals court judge Friday formally denied charges by the state Commission on Judicial Performance that he had committed "willful misconduct" by writing a dissent saying that he would not adhere to a controversial California Supreme Court decision. Justice J. Anthony Kline of San Francisco also contended that his actions did not constitute conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, dereliction of duty or violation of the Code of Judicial Ethics.

A bill to curb the powers of the state's Commission on Judicial Performance has sailed through an Assembly committee--a move that both the commission and its opponents see as a reaction against its investigation of a well-known state appellate judge. The measure would sharply limit the commission's power to discipline a judge in cases like that faced by Justice J. Anthony Kline of San Francisco. The bill now appears to be on a fast track toward legislative approval, although Gov.

The American Bar Assn., the nation's largest lawyers organization, urged the California Commission on Judicial Performance on Thursday to withdraw charges of "willful misconduct" that it filed this month against a veteran state appeals court judge.

When comic Robin Williams ripped into Rege brand wines during a videotaped comedy performance, the owner of Rege Cellars was not laughing. Instead, he sued, but a state Court of Appeal dismissed the suit, saying "figments of a comic's imagination" are protected by the First Amendment. David Rege accused Williams, Polygram Records Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO - California may be stymied for years to come in its efforts to resume executions as a result of a new court ruling, bureaucratic requirements and difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs, advocates on both sides of the death penalty said Friday. Supporters of capital punishment urged Gov. Brown to challenge a state appeals court's unanimous decision against California's lethal injection protocol, even though an appeal could take years. They also called on the governor to introduce a new single-drug execution method for public vetting.