Alameda County Judge Publicly Admonished

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — An Alameda County judge has been publicly admonished for inappropriate behavior in two separate incidents, according to California's Commission on Judicial Performance.

On Dec. 19, the commission announced its decision and order imposing the public admonishment of Judge Morris D. Jacobson of Alameda County Superior Court.

The commission took the action after it determined Jacobson hit the hand of an attorney while she was at the bench speaking to him. In a separate incident, the commission also determined Jacobson used crude and inappropriate language during a conversation with a court administrator while describing the sexual misconduct of another judge.

According to the commission, on June 29, 2011, Jacobson presided over a felony trial department. After a hearing, the judge asked to speak to a deputy public defender. The deputy
public defender approached and put her hand on the bench. Jacobson admitted
that, after apologizing for speaking sharply to her during a hearing that day, he “hit her
hand, and inadvertently used enough force to leave a visible impression.”

The commission said the judge's action “constitutes particularly serious misconduct.”

Additionally, in early 2016 Jacobson spoke with a court administrator who had previously worked in a Tarrant County, Texas, court. Jacobson used crude and inappropriate language when he told the court administrator about a case against a Tarrant County judge who had exchanged sex acts for better outcomes in cases. The commission said Jacobson’s conversation with the administrator did not pertain to a case before him, and that it is improper for a judge to use crude and inappropriate language in discussions with court personnel.

This month's public admonishment was not the first for Jacobson. In 2012, he received a public admonishment for abuse of authority, abuse of the contempt power, and poor demeanor after he . ordered an attorney to “spend every waking moment” working on a case. When the attorney said she did not need the court’s advice on how to be competent, Jacobson ordered her to stay in the courtroom, where she remained for an hour and a half, after which he ordered her to return later that afternoon for a contempt hearing. Although Jacobson did not find the attorney in contempt, ordering her to remain in the courtroom was found to be tantamount to punishing her for contempt without a hearing.

In 2010, Jacobson also received an advisory letter for abuse of authority, embroilment, and poor demeanor after he ordered an attorney to his courtroom and chastised him when no matter requiring the attorney’s presence was pending.