The committee charged with reviewing how California disciplines its judges backed off several early, controversial recommendations and is now suggesting more modest changes to the constitutionally mandated system.

Two months ago, the Committee to Review the Operations and Structure of the California Commission on Judicial Performance recommended in a draft report that the state eliminate a current restriction authorizing punishment only for an “action occurring not more than six years prior to the commencement of the judge’s current term or of the former judge’s last term.” Judges and defense attorneys quickly pushed back on the recommendation as unfair and too reliant on potentially “foggy” memories and missing documents and witnesses.