Longtime Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Adams has been publicly admonished for poor courtroom behavior and for making misleading statements during an investigation.
The Commission on Judicial Performance issued the admonishment against Adams over his actions during a 2023 court hearing and later comments that the commission deemed misleading.
In 1976, Adams became the first commissioner of the Santa Barbara Municipal Court, and he currently serves in Department 8 in the Figueroa Division in Santa Barbara.
The commission’s action was announced in a press release on Tuesday, in which the panel asserted that Adams had violated his duties.
“The commission found that Judge Adams violated his duties to be patient, dignified, and courteous to an attorney appearing before him, and exhibited a lack of candor and failed to cooperate with the commission during a prior investigation into his conduct,” the release said.
The accusations against Adams stemmed from a courtroom interaction with Deputy Public Defender Reem Yassin in November 2023.
The commission is an independent state agency that investigates allegations of judicial misconduct and capability. The panel is comprised of six members of the public, three judges, and two lawyers.
An investigation was opened after Adams had a public altercation with Yassin during an arraignment hearing. He was accused of yelling at the attorney and throwing a stack of papers at her.
Gregory Dresser, the director-chief counsel for the commission, called Adams’ actions during the hearing “poor demeanor.”
Another matter occurred when the commission contacted Adams to discuss the incident.
Adams told the commission that he would be retiring in April 2023, and would not be returning to the bench. He had scheduled vacation and medical leave for hip surgery, and did not plan on returning to his position.
However, Adams did not retire and came back to work after his stated retirement date. Dresser said that Adams did not inform the commission of the change of plans.
“Such a lack of candor with the commission is serious misconduct,” Dresser said.
Dresser said the panel’s decision to issue the public admonishment was influenced by Adams’ prior discipline by the commission.
The judge was privately admonished by the commissioners in 2023 for comments that could be perceived as bias, prejudice, or harassment based on sex or gender.
He was also admonished in 1993 for placing a person into custody for two days without a hearing. The commissioners described the incident as “an egregious violation of due process.”
Noozhawk reached out to Adams for a comment, but he did not respond.
