Ex-Judge Asks Panel to Let Him Return to Bench

VENTURA — Former Ventura County Judge Robert C. Bradley asked a state panel Wednesday to allow him to return to the bench on a part-time basis.

The 58-year-old jurist was suspended last year after two drunk-driving convictions. He violated the terms of his probation four times, mostly by drinking.

But standing before the Commission on Judicial Performance during an hourlong hearing in San Francisco, Bradley urged the panel to give him another chance.

“I still have good days and bad days,” he said. “But now they are sober days.”

Opposing his reinstatement, attorneys for the prosecuting arm of the commission, which disqualified Bradley last year, argued that he should never be allowed to handle cases again.

Examiner William Smith said there is no evidence Bradley’s drinking problem is under control.

Bradley needs permission from the commission and the approval of the state’s chief justice and the county’s presiding judge if he is to practice again. A ruling by the commission, which is composed of three judges, two lawyers and six members of the public, is expected within a month.