Rather than face the withering full-court press threatened by the state’s Commission on Judicial Performance about alleged ethical breaches, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Michael Carrozzo agreed to step down from the bench as of June 2 and never to seek, accept, or hold any positions of judicial responsibility in California for the rest of his life.
While Carrozzo is hardly the first Santa Barbara Judge to face controversy — or even criticism from the Commission on Judicial Performance — he is the first in living memory to leave office before his term expires as a result. Or put in legal terms, Carrozzo agreed to accept “an irrevocable resignation from office” to resolve the “imposition of a severe public censure.”
Carrozzo, a former prosecuting attorney with a prior history as a JAG officer (the military equivalent of a judge) while serving in the military, is one of two South Coast judges who brings with him a deep background in criminal law. It remains to be seen what impact his departure will have on caseload and case management — hot-button issues in the context of the ongoing debate about how many jail beds the county needs…