A July trial has been scheduled for a former Yolo County prosecutor who faces disciplinary charges stemming from his failed bid for a judgeship last year.
Clint Parish, 41, is accused by the State Bar of California of willfully violating rules of professional conduct by making false allegations against his opponent, incumbent Yolo Superior Court Judge Dan Maguire, in a pair of campaign mailers — a move that cost Parish numerous endorsements in the weeks leading up to the June 5 election.
The ads claimed that Maguire was involved in a “sordid case of corporate fraud” while working for a Denver law firm in the 1990s, and linked the former deputy legal affairs secretary to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the controversial partial commutation of a prison term for the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez.
In a response to the allegations filed earlier this month, Parish described himself as a political novice who relied largely on his campaign consultants for advice on matters ranging from campaign-sign colors to fundraising, and that he suspended his campaign activities once he determined the claims against Maguire to be untrue.
“Respondent worked with two consultants who advised him that this information was correct and a valid subject for a judicial campaign,” Parish wrote in the six-page document. “Respondent believed that since he was a neophyte in this arena and they were both heavily experienced, that their determination was valid.”
As for the claim involving Nuñez, Parish noted that his intent was to demonstrate that Maguire was once part of Schwarzenegger’s legal team, which, following Maguire’s appointment to the Yolo bench, went on to reduce Esteban Nuñez’s prison sentence in a murder case.
Upon learning of the incorrect information, Parish said he fired his paid consultant, Aaron Park, acknowledged the errors to the media, stopped attending fundraisers and halted both precinct walks and fundraising calls. Plans to send out additional mailers also were scrapped.
Parish noted that he took the additional step of moving his family out of Yolo County. His employment with the District Attorney’s Office ended last November.
“Respondent didn’t know what effect my campaign would have on the judicial system in Yolo, but knew he did not want to be responsible for injustice being done, so he moved,” Parish wrote.
During a status conference Monday in State Bar Court in San Francisco, Judge Patrice McElroy set the matter for a three-day trial, July 16-18. It will be a bench trial, in which the judge, rather than a jury, hears the evidence and renders a verdict.
If the charges are upheld, Parish, who has no prior record of disciplinary action, faces punishment ranging from a reprimand to disbarment, State Bar spokeswoman Laura Ernde said. The decision must be approved by the California Supreme Court.
The disciplinary charges stem from a complaint filed against Parish following the election, but the complainant’s identity has remained confidential.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene