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Santa Barbara County judge ordered to step down

April 17, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

The state on Thursday ordered a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge to permanently resign over misconduct regarding a love interest and for disparaging other judges and court staff.

To resolve pending proceedings with the Commission on Judicial Performance, Judge Michael Carrozzo agreed to public censure that includes his resignation and an agreement to never again seek any judicial office in California. Carrozzo agreed to leave the bench on June 2 and to irrevocably resign on Sept. 9.

Late last year, the commission accused Carrozzo of willful misconduct in office, conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute, and improper action under the California Constitution.

The allegations primarily focus on actions he took on behalf of his former judicial secretary Sara Eklund, who he later married. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, Carrozzo allegedly engaged in the unauthorized practice of law while serving as either the assistant presiding judge or the presiding judge.

Carrozzo negotiated with Eklund’s car insurance company relating to a traffic accident, sent threatening letters under a misleading letterhead and threatened to sue a mattress company for nondelivery. He also assisted Eklund with a landlord dispute and her divorce.

Using the court email system, Carrozzo and Eklund exchanged emails disparaging other judges, court staff and attorneys. For example, Carrozzo made comments about Judge Thomas Adams that were gratuitous, unprofessional, disrespectful, and unkind.

Carrozzo also encouraged and invited Eklund to make similar comments.

He exchanged hundreds of “personal emails, unrelated to court business, that were unprofessional, overly casual, and sometimes flirtatious,” according to the commission.

A June 26, 2019, colloquy between Carrozzo and Eklund:

Carrozzo: I’m way to [sic] nice lately…
Eklund: I know. What’s going on?
Carrozzo: Hmmmm…strange isn’t it. What could it be?
Eklund: Beats me.
Carrozzo: Must be the weather.
Eklund: It has been so lovely, yes

A July 15, 2019, colloquy between Carrozzo and Eklund:

Eklund: He’s (Judge Adams) just doing this to make a mockery of the system. He’ll try to use it to his advantage later.
Carrozzo: So true, but my hammer is ready…
Eklund: OH YEAH? ;-) (Oh wait, not that kind of hammer.)
Carrozzo: Very cute!

Carrozzo admitted to ten acts of willful misconduct and nine acts of prejudicial misconduct.

“Judge Carrozzo’s misconduct was serious and includes a significant number of acts, spanning over two years,” according to the commission’s decision and order. “The misconduct was of a nature to undermine public respect and confidence in the integrity of the judiciary.

“As the Supreme Court has stated, honesty is a ‘minimum qualification’ that is ‘expected of every judge.'”

 


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The CC, especially SLO County have been taken over by the permanent bureaucratic class. City staff in all the cities, county staff and their department directors are permanently entrenched and simply move around from jurisdiction to jurisdiction within the Central Coast. Staff is unaccountable and protected by a glacial civil service and all this allows corruption to grow and fester to the point it is now. It will literally take a US Attorney to assign a team of special agents to spend a year or two doing audits of each local government and the county as a whole.


6

hope local bar association member John Belsher is not a candidate for this judge’s vacant seat.


12

What a complete slime ball this guy and his wife are. “His attorney dubbed the departure as retirement, but the state called it an “irrevocable resignation.” Hopefully they disappear and we never hear those names again!


18

Just two days ago, the SLO County Bar Association was essentially telling us there are no corrupt judges.

https://calcoastnews.com/2025/04/slo-county-bar-association-supports-of-the-rule-of-law/

Now we find one right in our own backyard.

 This misconduct apparently began in 2018 meaning it took six years before the Commission on Judicial Performance “accused” (not alleged) “misconduct” by the soon to be former disgraced judge. Then it takes another year for them to negotiate a plea agreement with the judge. What about all the cases this judge had heard since 2018, and will hear between now and June 2? All those cases just stand as they are even though they were adjudicated before a corrupt judge?

 And why do we have to wait another five months before he resigns in September? Is he being allowed to reach some pension qualification milestone on that date? What will he be doing during that five months between when he “leave[s] the bench” on June 2 and “irrevocably resigns” on September 9 while we are still presumably paying him?

 And I wonder if Ms. Eklund will stick with him now that he has lost all his power?

Too many questions, and likely no answers. Just business as usual.


24

I’m still trying to find out what happened with Judge Ginger.


6

How do you afford local justice? The only advice given to me, by a once local judge, thence Appellant Court Judge, is get your case viewed outside of the THIS county.


15