SACRAMENTO — The Republican judge who ran unsuccessfully for California attorney general last year has been barred from the bench or working in state courts for using his position to help his campaign, accepting gifts and aiding his son’s employer.
Republican Steven Bailey was censured Wednesday by California’s Commission on Judicial Performance.
He is a former El Dorado County judge who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra in 2018. The commissioners say Bailey “engaged in a broad spectrum of misconduct on and off the bench spanning the entire course of his career.” He served as a judge from 2009 through August 2017.
Commissioners say that using his position to help his campaign impugned the judiciary’s independence, impartiality, and integrity.

Bailey Says Decision Is a Political Hit Job

Bailey called the decision “a political hit by a Democrat-dominated commission” designed to damage him.
A commission statement on Bailey’s conduct is at this link.