On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, the California Commission on Judicial Performance publicly censured former Justice William J. Murray, Jr., a former justice of the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District. The censure stems from a stipulation agreement reached between Murray and the commission’s examiners, resolving formal proceedings initiated against him on June 10, 2025. As part of the agreement, Murray has also agreed to a permanent bar from serving in any judicial capacity within the state of California.
The disciplinary action follows an inquiry into Murray’s conduct during his tenure on the Court of Appeal, which spanned from December 10, 2010, to January 27, 2022. The commission’s investigation, Inquiry No. 211, centered on allegations of neglect of duty and a pattern of chronic decisional delay in authoring appellate cases.
According to the commission’s findings, Murray failed to promptly author opinions in 132 cases. These cases had opinions filed at least three years after they were assigned to him or were fully briefed, with some cases experiencing delays of up to eight or nine years. The commission highlighted that this extensive delay prejudiced litigants in at least seven specific cases.
The cases impacted by Murray’s delays included a class action wage and hour appeal, Myers et al. v. Raley’s, where 97 maintenance technicians faced years of waiting for class certification. In a criminal securities fraud case, People v. Koenig, elderly victims were unable to obtain restitution, with one victim dying while the appeal was pending. Other cases involved trust disputes, foreclosure challenges, property distribution after divorce, power theft, and personal injury claims.
The commission noted that Murray was aware of his growing backlog, receiving monthly reports detailing his assigned cases and their assignment dates. Corrective measures implemented by the court, such as reducing assignments and reassigning cases, proved ineffective. From 2016 to 2020, Murray was assigned fewer cases than any other justice in the Third District.
In addition to the delays in authoring opinions, the commission found that Murray failed to timely address four juvenile cases, with delays ranging from one and a half to nearly nine years. The commission also determined that Murray did not effectively supervise his research attorneys, contributing to the overall delays.
Despite his awareness of the backlog, Murray continued to participate extensively in non-core judicial activities, including judicial branch committees, legal education programs, and community work. The commission concluded that Murray’s conduct violated the Code of Judicial Ethics and constituted prejudicial conduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute.
The stipulation agreement, approved by the commission on December 3, 2025, includes a waiver of further proceedings and review by Murray, including formal proceedings and review by the Supreme Court. The agreement also stipulates that Murray will not seek or hold any judicial office or accept any judicial assignments in California in the future. If Murray violates this agreement, the commission may withdraw the public censure and reinstitute formal proceedings.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
