Judge Richard Vlavianos of Stockton, CA; ethical troll

The state of California provided Richard A. Vlavianos with a law license in 1992 after he graduated from the University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance found Dick guilty of engaging in the following misconduct.

• Used the prestige of his judicial standing to promote a nonprofit that Dick founded
• Dick created the appearance that he was working in association with private industry affiliates who stood to benefit from the success of the nonprofit
• Misled and persuaded court employees to participate in an event that would benefit his business
• Lied when discussing the nonprofit with his court's presiding judge and assistant presiding judge
• Failed to fully inform criminal defendants of their rights (aka, due process)
• Coerced some defendants into participating in treatment court
• Made potentially bias remarks to defendants
• Failed to safeguard the constitutional right to counsel for an unrepresented criminal defendant
• Improperly threatened a deputy public defender with contempt
• Exhibited poor demeanor toward a deputy district attorney
• Engaged in improper ex parte (one-sided) communications about, and involved himself with, two parole re-entry court defendants
• Engaged in an ex parte (one-sided) communication with court staff about a criminal defendant

And lastly, it appears that Dick is of the firm legal opinion that “due process” is the means by which the grass becomes moist in the a.m.

Asa direct consequence of his misconduct, the apologists sitting on the California Commission on Judicial Performance punished Dick by gifting him with a complimentary censure.

As we speak (ca. February 2023), Dick continues to dispense his so-called brand of jurisprudence as a San Joaquin County Superior Court judge in Stockton, California.