State panel scolds Sonoma County judge over Analy High’s name change advocacy

A judicial panel in California publicly rebuked Sonoma County Superior Court Judge James Bertoli for inappropriate political behavior in his opposition to county school officials’ highly contentious effort to rename Sebastopol Analy High School in 2021.

Bertoli, an Analy graduate who is also a former baseball coach and longtime sports game announcer. emerged as an outspoken and at times harsh critic West Sonoma County Union High School Board’s effort to change the school’s name West County High School.

In its decision announced on October 30, the California Judicial Performance Commission ruled that the judge engaged in inappropriate political activity through Facebook posts, letters and comments to the Democratic Press, attending rallies and giving speeches, and engaged in “inappropriate social media behavior that disparages the judiciary.” office.”

Bertoli, whose last day on the bench before his long-planned retirement is Thursday, denies any violation of judicial ethics. He provided the Press Democrat with a copy of his statement at a private hearing with the commission; Here, he argued that as a judge, he investigated what ethical steps he could take regarding the issue and that he avoided any political speech or attitude that would lead to this situation. It creates the impression that he cannot sue fairly.

“There is no evidence or assumption that I cannot perform my duties as a family law judge impartially because I do not want my high school name changed,” Bertoli wrote. He added that when the rallies he attends turn political — when anger over the name change turns into an unsuccessful effort to recall school board members — he will step away from the crowd.

Bertoli wrote that he advised the chief judge and chief of the Sonoma County Superior Court that he would oppose the name change but would not engage in any election activity, and that there were no objections. Current president Shelly Averill declined to comment to The Press Democrat on Thursday.

But the judicial panel highlighted a series of Facebook posts in which Bertoli lashed out at the school board and then-district superintendent Toni Beal, who lost her job during the unrest.

“Judge Bertoli used his Facebook accounts to make derogatory remarks about public officials, engage in rhetoric that inflamed public passions, use profane language, and speak sarcastically about those who disagreed with him,” the commission concluded.

Bertoli’s attorney, James Murphy of San Francisco, told The Press Democrat that Bertoli cannot appeal the commission’s decision. But Murphy said Bertoli had the option of suing in federal court, claiming his free speech had been curtailed, and the judge was considering that.

Murphy said the dispute over the name change was a “community issue” and not a political conversation. “At what point does a judge in California think he can’t speak on anything because of this decision?” he said.

In his statement, Bertoli described himself as someone who is extremely passionate about high school, citing a family history with Analy that goes back five generations. “For nearly 40 years I was known as ‘The Voice of the Tigers,'” he wrote, “announcing football and, for a time, home basketball games.”

The committee found that Bertoli suggested in Facebook posts that the school board was intentionally vague about meeting times and locations in an effort to limit public criticism of the name change. He described one board member’s comments as “myopic, unanalytical and self-indulgent” and wrote of the board in another post: “This may be politically incorrect given the origin of the word, but what a stupid bunch!”

The committee argued that it brought the weight of its judicial role into the public debate, saying in another post that “in my profession, rushing to a conclusion without thinking about it will get you overturned by the Court of Appeals.”

When a Facebook commenter accused him of “bullying and threatening” to get his way, Bertoli responded with “haters gotta hate, bro,” according to the commission’s report.

Murphy and Bertoli argued that the Facebook account was personal and that Bertoli did not identify himself as a judge, but that his location was well known in a small town like Sebastopol. Facebook friends immediately addressed him by the title “Judge” in the comment exchange, the commission said.

But Murphy argued the judge failed to control people’s use of his title in the dialogue, describing it as a “funny repartee”.

This was not the first discipline in Bertoli’s long judicial career. The commission wrote that its decision to go public this time was influenced by a 2021 letter warning Bertoli not to tie his judgeship to the country music group: Court and Disaster. In that case, the commission reprimanded Bertoli for a photo identifying the musician as Judge Jimmy Bertoli and for characterizing Court ‘n’ Disaster’s marketing of the material as “your standard courthouse band.”

The commission found that Bertoli “abused the prestige of the judicial office” in marketing his band, which describes its music as Rocky Tonk and has 1,300 followers on Facebook.

Reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or [email protected]. Follow him on X (Twitter) @AndrewGraham88