SACRAMENTO — Lawyers for state Auditor Elaine Howle fired back this week at the Commission on Judicial Performance, arguing that the judicial disciplinary agency has no authority to limit her review of its operations.
The commission sued Howle last month, asking a San Francisco Superior Court judge to restrict the scope of her audit. The legislatively mandated review, commissioners said, would threaten the confidentiality of the agency’s investigations and violate the separation of powers doctrine. The judicial performance commission is part of the judicial branch; Howle’s office conducts some investigations on direction from the Legislature.
