Former Riverside County judge's name taken off June 3 ballot Posted on 4/1/2008 at 13:30:11 by BBVM
Robert G. Spitzer's name has been removed from the list of candidates for the Riverside County judgeship he once occupied.
Robert G. Spitzer's name has been removed from the list of candidates for the Riverside County judgeship he once occupied.
Spitzer requested his name be taken off the June 3 ballot after the state Supreme Court decided March 19 not to review the state Commission on Judicial Performance order removing him from the bench last October.
Commissioners said Spitzer, 59, had improperly contacted witnesses in two criminal cases and signed salary affidavits claiming he had met the 90-day deadline for decisions when in fact he had not. He was cleared of charges that he back-dated documents to make it appear they were filed on time.
While Spitzer could not act as a judge, the commission's decision was not final until the state Supreme Court ruled on his petition. In the meantime, Spitzer filed to run for the office he occupied. Its six-year term coincidentally ends this year.
Spitzer wrote a letter to Riverside County Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore, stating the high court's denial of his petition meant the commission's decision was final and he was no longer qualified to be a judge.
Robert Pepper, principal deputy county counsel for the Riverside County registrar of voters, said his office agreed. On Monday, Spitzer's name was no longer on the electronic version of the ballot, posted on the registrar's Web site.
That leaves three candidates for what appears to be the county's only contested judgeship — Riverside lawyer John W. Vineyard; Anne M. Knighten, a Riverside County judicial staff attorney; and Deputy District Attorney John Molloy.
The prosecutor had filed a lawsuit March 17 seeking to remove Spitzer from the ballot as a unqualified candidate.
The state Supreme Court decision two days later, Spitzer's letter to Dunmore, and his removal from the ballot appears to end the legal contest. A status hearing on Molloy's lawsuit is set for Thursday.
