Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson may have given up his judicial robe for a jail jumpsuit, but that doesn’t prevent him from continuing to draw his salary.
Ferguson, charged with murder for the killing of his wife, remains in Los Angeles County jail, sheriff records show, after losing his freedom late last month when a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge determined he had lied about not consuming alcohol while free on bail.
But while the California Constitution says a judge facing a felony is “disqualified from acting as a judge,” the law also clearly states that the change in his judicial status “comes without loss of salary.”
At least for now.
According to the Transparent California public pay database, Ferguson made $220,109, with an additional $22,181 in benefits, in 2023.
As elected officials, such judges are overseen by the Commission of Judicial Performance, an independent state agency tasked with investigating allegations of judicial misconduct and disciplining judges.
“Our records show that Judge Ferguson is still receiving his state monthly salary,” a state courts spokesman said.
According to prosecutors, Ferguson murdered his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, in August 2023 in front of the couple’s son at their Anaheim Hills home. Ferguson’s attorney has described the shooting as “a terribly unfortunate accidental discharge” rather than a premeditated killing.
As a defendant in a murder case without a criminal background, Ferguson was allowed to post $1 million bail immediately following his arrest in order to secure his release. But last month another judge revoked Ferguson’s previous bail, doubled it to $2 million and ordered him taken into custody after determining he had violated a key condition of his release to avoid alcohol.
Ferguson denied consuming alcohol while awaiting trial.
If Ferguson does post that $2 million bail, he will face a new condition barring him from going to any establishment that sells alcohol. Before, Ferguson was only barred from going to establishments focused on alcohol sales — like bars or liquor stores — but was allowed to go to restaurants with separate bars.
“If you want to go out to eat, go to McDonald’s,” Judge Eleanor J. Hunter told Ferguson during a recent hearing.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 15, jail records still listed him in custody at the Twin Towers jail in Los Angeles.
After his wife’s death, Ferguson quickly lost his courtroom at the North Justice Center in Fullerton, along with the clerk and bailiff assigned to him. The cases he had been presiding over were re-assigned by supervising judges in the Orange County Superior Court system.
Meanwhile, Ferguson’s criminal case was re-assigned to a judge in Los Angeles County to avoid any potential conflicts of interest with his Orange County colleagues.
Officials with the Commission on Judicial Performance said they couldn’t recall any similar examples in recent memory.
If Ferguson’s criminal case ends in a felony conviction or a felony plea deal, the California Constitution directs the commission to suspend him from office — without a salary.
If the conviction were later reversed, the judge would get that salary back.
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