James A. Kaddo Admonished Retired

Judge James A. Kaddo, who served on the Los Angeles Superior Court since 1999 and retired in November 2024 at age 90, repeatedly addressed women appearing before him with terms like "young lady," "lady," "these ladies," and "ma'am" -- language the California Commission on Judicial Performance found he never used for men in the same settings, over a pattern spanning 2018 to 2024. During a 2021 medical malpractice trial, Kaddo repeatedly called attorney Maro Burunsuzyan "young lady" and told her to "control herself." After a juror refused to return over a COVID-exposure concern and Burunsuzyan asked him to clarify to the juror that the opposing party had not tested positive, Kaddo declined, declared a mistrial, and told his clerk in chambers that Burunsuzyan was a "bitch," then repeated the comment in front of a supervising judge and two staff members. Separately, during a 2018 personal injury trial, Kaddo repeatedly told another attorney, Laura Sedrish, to "calm down" during her cross-examination of a witness -- conduct the Commission found could reasonably be perceived as gender bias and could make her appear less credible than her male co-counsel, who received no similar treatment. In a 2021 unlawful detainer trial, Kaddo accused a self-represented woman appearing by phone of talking too much and had his clerk mute her, saying she "wouldn't shut up." The Commission's findings also documented a broader pattern of discourtesy toward potential jurors, attorneys, and parties. The California Commission on Judicial Performance publicly admonished Kaddo for what it called "a pattern of discourteous, undignified and impatient behavior." He had already retired by the time the admonishment was issued.