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Santa Barbara judge admonished for angry outburst

January 15, 2025

Judge Thomas R. Adams

By KAREN VELIE

Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Adams was slapped last month with a public reprimand for inappropriate conduct during court proceedings, his third to date, according to the Commission on Judicial Performance.

The 84-year-old Adams was admonished after he yelled, threw off his glasses and threw papers at a defense attorney because he thought she shook her head at him. Deputy Public Defender Reem Yassin had passed the bar just three-months earlier.

Adams later sent Yassin a letter apologizing for his inappropriate conduct.

In addition, Adams made misleading statements to the California Commission on Judicial Performance during a previous ethics investigation in June 2023, when he said he already served his final day on the bench. However, he did not retire.

In 1993, the commission levied a private admonishment on Adams after he ordering a pro se family law litigant to be taken into custody for two days without a contempt hearing.

Judge Adams has been a judge of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court for nearly 50 years. His current term began in 2021.

 


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Judges tend to get old and very difficult. This is a position that really requires and even temperment. Even retired recurrent Judges have a problem with this. I don’t usually support mandatory retirement but for a seated Judge I believe it is needed.


2

Seems Santa Barbra is having problems with their judicial officials.

Some times you have to know when to say when.


3

Time to put this fella out to pasture!


14

At 84, he must be tired of hearing legal cases.


14

Early signs of dementia.


18

Not always early signs, sometimes later signs, scary that him may be in later stages and still on the bench, likely court staff has known about his issue and has been covering for him


9

At 84 years old he’s almost old enough for Congress.


36

Sounds mandatory retirement is needed in government along with term limits.


25

This guy needs to retire.


23

Yet another person in power who should have retired years ago. The U.S. Congress has about 20 octogenarians serving, including Sen. Chuck Grassley, who at 91 is the current President Pro Temp of the Senate, making him third in line to succeed the president. Luckily two much younger men are between him and a 78 year old man. Whatever happened to retiring and hanging out with the grandchildren?


23

Our current President should have retired years ago


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