Disability for Maxine Thomas Upheld

Swayed by “new medical evidence,” the California Commission on Judicial Performance announced Friday that it has reversed its earlier denial of a disability retirement claim for former Judge Maxine Thomas, officially ending her rocky tenure on the Los Angeles Municipal Court bench.

The disability retirement, also approved by Supreme Court Justice Malcolm Lucas this week, will entitle Thomas, 41, to 65% of a judge’s salary for the rest of her life.

Thomas, who has not appeared in court since suffering an emotional breakdown in November, 1987, was the first black woman elected as the Municipal Court’s presiding judge and the first jurist ever to be recalled from that post.

Her initial request for the pension was turned down last November, when the judicial commission said she had not demonstrated that her disability was permanent. A month later, when Thomas’ attorney produced more complete medical records, the board agreed to take another look.

“I argued that if ever there was a case that had a total breakdown, this was it,” said attorney Johnnie L. Cochran. “This was a lady who could not function as a judge. . . . Now there’s been justice.”

Cochran said Thomas, who has been in and out of hospitals since her breakdown, is home, “where she is going to take her time and try to keep getting better.”