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Background
The parties submitted this case fully stipulated pursuant to
Rule 122. The stipulation of facts and the attached exhibits are
incorporated herein by this reference. Petitioners resided in
Union, Washington, at the time of filing the petition.
Judge Byrne was born on July 29, 1928. On June 3, 1980, he
was elected to a 6-year term as municipal court judge for Sonoma
County, California, and he took office on January 5, 1981. Judge
Byrne’s term as a municipal court judge did not expire until
December 31, 1986; however, his service as a judge effectively
ended on June 5, 1986, when he suffered a permanent disability
that arose out of, and in the course of, his employment. The
permanent disability was a mental injury that was caused by an
exceptionally heavy workload and his inability to cope with the
ramifications of his judicial decisions. As a result of job-
related stress, Judge Byrne sank into a major depression which
prevented him from performing his job.
On or about September 29, 1986, Judge Byrne filed an
application for disability retirement under the Judges’
Retirement Law.2 On December 10, 1986, his application was
denied by the Commission on Judicial Performance (commission).
However, on or about November 30, 1989, the application was
2The Judges’ Retirement System is administered by the Board
of Administration, California Public Employees’ Retirement System
(Cal. PERS). To participate, judges must contribute 8 percent of
their salaries.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011