Counsel for the California Commission on Judicial Performance alleged an Orange County Superior Court judge’s deception and “lack of candor”—about withholding evidence in a murder case as a prosecutor—continued through his disciplinary hearing, as he tried to cast a public defender’s actions as nefarious while ignoring a judge’s findings to the contrary.

A 78-page report submitted to the three-judge panel by CJP Trial Counsel Mark Lizarraga and Assistant Trial Counsel Melissa Murphy doesn’t recommend how Judge Michael Murray be disciplined, but it lays out a detailed finding of fact that argues his two misconduct charges were not only proved but aggravated by his defense during the seven-day hearing that ended in May.