Prof. Perschbacher Comments on Placer County Judge's Censure for Bee
Professor Rex Perschbacher commented for the Sacramento Bee on the state Commission on Judicial Performance's public censure of Placer County Judge Joseph O'Flaherty. The censure, the stiffest punishment available to the commission short of removal from office, stems from a 2008 small claims court case in which Flaherty ordered a man to stay away from a local credit union following the resolution of small claims case. The Commission found that the judge's actions amounted to a "disregard of the law, abuse of authority, embroilment and denial of due process."
Professor Perschbacher said that the public censure was a serious action. "By making things public they are saying, 'You are walking on the edge,' " Perschbacher said. He added that while this second public sanction might result in someone challenging O'Flaherty's re-election, should O'Flaherty seek another term, incumbent judges seldom lose.
Professor Rex Perschbacher was Dean of the Law School from 1998 to 2008, and before that served as Associate Dean from 1993-1998. He has taught at UC Davis since 1981 with an emphasis on the areas of Civil Procedure, Professional Responsibility, and clinical teaching. He received the law school's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992, and a Special Citation Affirmative Action and Diversity Achievement Award in 2001.