S.F. public defender wants judge dismissed

A San Francisco Superior Court judge overreached by remanding a mentally ill defendant into custody after he asked for a Spanish interpreter — and then trying to hold the man’s public defender in contempt of court when he questioned the decision, Public Defender Jeff Adachi said Friday.

Judge Ross Moody should be removed from the bench not just for his actions at the Sept. 14 hearing, Adachi said, but for other unethical and retaliatory instances that attorneys with the public defender’s office have experienced in his courtroom.

“This is truly a case where a judge not only is abusing his power, but he’s jailing people who appear before him without any legal reason,” Adachi said. “This constitutes judicial misconduct.”

Moody currently oversees the misdemeanor courtroom. Ann Donlan, a spokeswoman for the courts, said that Presiding Judge Teri L. Jackson “has not received any complaints about Judge Moody and she continues to have full

faith and confidence in him.”

Adachi represented Deputy Public Defender John Paul Passaglia at Friday’s hearing, where he asked Moody to retract the contempt charge. According to court records, Passaglia was representing Michael Banayos, a 55-yearold Filipino man, who was pleading no contest to one count of petty theft at the Sept. 14 hearing. The court provided Banayos with a Tagalog interpreter, but Banayos became confused. According to court transcripts, Moody asked Banayos to calm down.

“Mr. Banayos, I understand that you speak some English,” Moody said.

“Yeah,” Banayos responded.

“But the file says that you need a Tagalog interpreter for these matters,” Moody continued.

“I need Spanish interpreter,” Banayos said.

“All right,” Moody said. “You’re this close to either finishing this plea or going into that holding cell. Do you understand?”

Banayos expressed more confusion, and Passaglia asked to pass the matter. The court paused the proceedings briefly before returning to continue where they left off.

Abruptly after Moody advised Banayos that his no-contest plea could result in deportation if he isn’t an American citizen — a routine piece of plea hearings — the judge instructed deputies to take him into custody, where he remained Friday.

Passaglia objected and tried to put his arm around Banayos. The deputy and Moody instructed him to move away, and later, Moody berated him for “interfering.”

“I have a duty to protect my client in a situation with extreme mental health ... and to put someone in a bind to say, ‘You either understand what I’m saying or go to jail’ is improper,” Passaglia said.

Passaglia was served with an order of contempt of court only after the public defender’s office filed a writ demanding a reason for Banayos’ detention. According to Adachi, after the court clerk presented Passaglia with the order, Passaglia saw the clerk and Moody share a fist bump.

Seven witnesses to the Sept. 14 hearing provided declarations, including Deputy Public Defender Anisa Sirur, who said two days before the hearing, Moody threatened to remand her client into custody when her client declined to waive his right to a speedy trial.

Just before Friday’s hearing, Moody “humiliated” Sirur in his courtroom by questioning if she was a lawyer and asking to see her bar card, Adachi said. He did this after he received her declaration for the Sept. 14 hearing.

Moody declined to make a ruling Friday on the contempt charge or on the custody matter for Banayos.

“We have a judge who is out of control,” Adachi said. “This is really one of the most egregious cases of judicial misconduct that I have ever seen.”