A former Riverside family law commissioner was publicly admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance Aug. 29.
The commission found that Wendy Harris violated nine judicial canons when she was combative and disrespectful to two litigants for whom she was presiding over a custody and domestic violence restraining hearing.
Harris is no longer employed with the court, according to spokesperson Marita Ford. Ford declined to comment further. Harris joined the court in 2019.
Follow Our Courts reached out to Harris for comment and has not heard back.
Harris had ordered joint physical custody of the litigant’s daughter in January 2022. The same month, the father had sent the daughter to the midwest, and had not enrolled her in school, according to the mother’s petition to change custody. The mother had recovered their daughter Feb. 6, 2022.
On March 16, 2022, Harris was overseeing the mother’s petition. The father was in court, and the mother was not.
Harris asked the father if he wanted her to return their child, and he said yes. Harris called the mother, who said she was waiting for the bus to take her to the courtroom, and had just dropped off their daughter at school at their earliest time possible.
Harris told the mother she violated her shared custody order by having the child, and told her to bring their daughter to the courtroom. If she did not bring the daughter, Harris would use “measures to retrieve the daughter,” Harris said. The mother said “maybe we can go through that, because she—,” until Harris told her to stop talking and listen to her. Harris then said the mother was not present, and found her in violation of the court order.
“I find the petitioner is in violation of my court’s order. She has said she is not going to return the child. I am appointing the Child Abduction Unit to retrieve this minor child,” Harris said.
She then said the father will have sole legal and physical custody of the child.
The same day, but in the afternoon, the mother appeared at the courtroom. This time, the father was not present, and appeared by telephone. Harris had also brought in a prosecutor and an investigator from the Child Abduction Unit.
Harris did not ask questions or allow the mother, prosecutor or investigator to speak, according to the commission.
If the mother did not appear with the child at 8:30 a.m. the next day, Harris would issue a bench warrant for her arrest, Harris said.
Harris self-reported her conduct to her supervising judge, Jennifer Gerard, who then saw the proceedings the next day, the commission said.
The next day, Harris asked the father if the daughter was attending school, and if he sent the child out of the state, but did not allow him to fully respond. Harris then ruled in the favor of the mother, granting her sole legal and physical custody.
Harris was reprimanded by Presiding Judge John Monterosso June 20, 2022.
“The commission determined that, during both hearings, Commissioner Harris was discourteous, argumentative, impatient, and demeaning to the litigants, and appeared to be embroiled in the proceedings and that Commissioner Harris twice dismissed the DDAs present in court without any inquiry as to whether the CAU had any information relevant to the issues before her,” the Commission wrote.
The Commission found that her conduct violated judicial canons that required judges to be patient, courteous and fair.
The public admonishment was Riverside’s fourth since 2000. Read the report here.
