Antelope Court Presiding Judge Charged With Misconduct

The presiding judge of Antelope Municipal Court has been charged with misconduct for an alleged dependence on prescription narcotics that began when she took office three years ago and led to “bizarre conduct” on the bench, state officials confirmed Monday.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance, which has the power to remove judges, has accused Judge Pamela Rogers of using Demerol, Inderal, morphine, MS Contin and other drugs from January 1995 until at least April 1997 and alleged that their effects were felt in the courtroom.

In a notice of formal proceedings, the commission said Rogers appeared to speak to an empty witness stand, slurred her speech, rambled, was emotionally unstable, had poor short-term memory, was rude and missed work often.

Rogers was also accused of failing to decide issues in seven cases within the statutory maximum of 90 days.

Rogers’ lawyer said the proceedings are an attempt by some defense lawyers and possibly a judge who want to get her off the bench because of personal differences.

“There are several people there who dislike her and want to get rid of her,” San Francisco defense attorney Ephraim Margolin said. “These things go deep and they are personal.”

He admitted Rogers, 44, took a myriad of drugs over months, but he said they were prescribed to cure postpartum maladies, including intolerable migraines. None of the medications affected her judgment or rulings, he said.

“All I can tell you is that the judge became ill in proximity to childbirth,” Margolin said. “But she stayed on the job. She did not take time off, but went through a whole succession of doctors and each doctor told her to take this prescription or that prescription.”

He said she frequently had a “splitting migraine” while on the bench.

He said she’s been feeling fine and has been drug-free for about the past three months.

Rogers, a former Los Angeles deputy district attorney, was elected to the bench in November 1994. She is known for her conservative stance, Margolin said. Her husband, Randy Rogers, is also a municipal judge in the Antelope Valley. He was appointed last year.

The charges against Rogers come after an investigation by the commission that found the administrative equivalent to probable cause. The source of the complaint against her is confidential, said Victoria B. Henley, the commission’s chief counsel.

The filing of such charges is unusual, Henley said.

Of the approximately 1,100 complaints filed in 1996, the latest figures available, only eight led to a notice of formal proceedings, she said. Rogers has until Jan. 26 to respond to the charges. An evidentiary hearing will follow.

If the commission finds her guilty of misconduct, it can choose sanctions ranging from private discipline to ejection from the bench.

However, Henley said, formal proceedings generally do not end in private sanctions.