A Los Angeles Superior Court judge is well known to make inappropriate remarks, including threats to shoot people in court and advise a woman to raise a “methamphetamine baby.”
The Judicial Performance Committee, which investigates complaints of judicial misconduct and incapacity and complaints from disciplinary judges, published its findings in August. The public’s warning is Usually issued for serious misconduct.
The committee found Superior Court Judge Enrique Monguia was presided over a criminal matter in Clara Shortridge Foltz’s criminal matter in downtown Los Angeles, and publicly spoke threatening to “shoot” people or have his lawyers and retired judges “shoot” people.
The panel said he also proposed a pattern of inappropriate remarks: “It is somewhat impolite and brings prejudice to the victims of crime, potential jurors, defendants, lawyers and others.”
According to the Commission’s statement on the findings, every statement in Mongolia “constitutes an abuse of authority” and violates the rules of judicial conduct.
Unable to comment immediately with Monguia. However, the panel said he did not object to the public’s warnings.
From 1986 to 2014, at that time, Monguia served as public defender. Jerry Brown appointed him to the High Court. His current term begins in January 2023.
Examples of Mongolian Asian misconduct reviewed by the panel include a preliminary hearing of a man accused of assaulting a security guard in November 2022. The man’s lawyer showed surveillance footage of the attack to show that his client was actually defending himself, and later demanded that the charge be reduced to a misdemeanor.
“When announcing his ruling to get the defendant to answer, Judge Monguia expressed his opinion that the video did not show self-defense,” the panel wrote. “He said, ‘If it were me, I would fire the gun,'” [the defendant]but that’s me. ‘”
In September 2023, Monguia threatened two lawyers who spoke loudly in court to discuss a case if they did not lower their voices, “He will authorize his bailiffs to use physical force instead of having the judge shoot the lawyer, but the Mongolian judge can shoot the lawyer.”
The second month, retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge Stephen Marcus, who presided over another court but did not wear a judicial robe, entered the court in Monguia and demanded the use of a private entrance reserved for court staff, but was denied.
“On the bench, Judge Mongolia said Judge Marcus was lucky that the bailiff was not there or he would order her to shoot Judge Marcus or the words.”
The committee said the shooting in Mongolia said: “There is a climate of intimidation in court, and even in the case of jokes, there is no doubt and no denial.”
Mongolia also adopted a model of inappropriate speech to lawyers, defendants, prospective jurors and victims of crime, the panel said.
In one case, he told a defendant that he was overweight and had difficulty paying the fine and he did not appear to starve to death. Monguia does admit that his comments are “deprecating and wrong.”
In another case, he told prosecutors that pregnant women with past criminal drug charges in court will have a “methmethamphetamine” [his] tax. ”
The panel said that after Monguia disclosed her son’s criminal history during the jury’s selection in September 2022, he also made inappropriate remarks to prospective jurors, including one woman.
The group found that the remarks also extended to victims of the crime, including a woman who tried to amend the contactless restriction order in March 2023 to allow peaceful contact so that she could visit between her son and father.
The statement said that the woman was putting herself in a dangerous situation and posing a burden to the community, including police officers who may have to respond to help her.
The panel said that in some cases, Monguia abused his authority, including in September 2023, when a woman volunteered to appear on the bench with her children. The woman’s attorney was not in court, prompting Deputy Public Defence Attorney Meredith Gallen to ask her to step in and represent the woman.
But Monguia ordered the woman to be detained, prompting Gallen to object because no one could take the woman’s children. The panel provided part of the dialogue between Mongolia and Galen, who opposed the court’s position on the matter.
According to the transcript, “…I need to call for a second time to talk to my government because there has never been a child in my career torn from my mother’s arm.”
“Court: Well, lawyers, you haven’t had a long time. I’ve been here for 30 years…”
The woman was detained but was later released and reunited with her children, but not without intervention from the Public Defender’s Office.
The committee found that Mongolia “failed in many ways, treating defendants and lawyers with courtesy and respect at this hearing.”
According to the panel’s statement, Mongolia acknowledged that there were misconduct in this case and in other cases his behavior was inappropriate.
“Judge Monguia expressed regret and remorse for his actions and said he had taken steps to address unconscious bias and other issues that led to his misconduct.”
