East Bay Times
October 17, 2017
By Nate Gartrell
Judge Bruce C. Mills was charged with willful misconduct and could be removed from the bench. (Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group
MARTINEZ — A Contra Costa judge with a history of ethics violations was charged with judicial misconduct that could warrant his removal from the bench, records obtained Tuesday show.
The two counts of misconduct include allegations that Judge Bruce C. Mills illegally doubled the sentence of a judicial rights advocate who Mills had found to be in contempt of court. Mills jailed the man for discussing his divorce online, a decision that First Amendment experts called, “outrageous” and a free speech violation.
The two charges were filed Friday by the Commission on Judicial Performance, the California government body that investigates ethical complaints into judges. Mills is required to provide a written answer to the charges within 20 days.
Per the California Constitution, Mills faces removal or admonishment if the charges are found true. The CJP’s action carries no criminal penalties. Mills could not be reached for comment.
Mills, a judge since 1995, has been disciplined five times since 2001. He was admonished in 2013 after the commision found 10-0 that he had “created an appearance of impropriety that undermined public confidence in the impartiality and integrity of the judiciary” when he interfered with a case in which his son was a defendant. In 2001, he was found to have coerced a guilty plea out of a DUI defendant.