Judge of the Day: Kelly MacEachern

Orange County Superior Court Judge Kelly MacEachern is no longer listed among the judges on the court’s website, but you can still Google her bio. We suspect that only in California would a judge list “rollerblading” as her number one interest.
MacEachern was removed from office yesterday for filing “false and misleading expense claims for a legal conference in San Diego,” then lying about it when she got caught. Oh, the tangled webs we weave.
The conference didn’t get off to a good start for her. From the L.A. Times:

[MacEachern] tried to enroll in two classes — “Excellence in Judging” and “Statements of Decision” — during the weeklong San Diego conference, according to the commission.

About a week later, she was informed that she was denied entry into the “Excellence in Judging” course, held Monday through Wednesday, because she lacked the required experience of eight years or more on the bench.

Denied entry into “Excellence in Judging?” How odd.

She was, however, accepted into the one-day “Statements of Decision” class and was told the state would directly pay the Hyatt Regency for one night’s stay, up to $110.

MacEachern decided to stay at the hotel for a week anyway, and included the three “unauthorized nights” in her reimbursement request. Perhaps she needed the time to rollerblade in San Diego.

In a series of e-mails with the court’s travel coordinator, Rick Valadez, MacEachern reported that when she arrived at the conference, “there was a mix-up with my registration,” so she “just sat in on the Judicial Excellence class on Monday.” She also said she sat in on a domestic violence class Thursday.
MacEachern, confronted by Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Nancy Stock after an investigation by her office, conceded that she had not attended either of the classes and that her e-mail to Valadez was misleading, according to the commission. She then withdrew her claim.

“Mix-up” is a great catchall phrase that usually allows for back-pedaling. Unfortunately, it’s hard to back-pedal out of trying to bill the state for your personal vacation. Oh well, more time for rollerblading!
Orange County judge is removed from bench [Los Angeles Times]

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