California’s judicial watchdog agency has issued a severe public censure to a veteran San Diego judge who missed the equivalent of five calendar months of work over a two-year period.

In an order made public Wednesday, the Commission on Judicial Performance leveled its most severe punishment short of removal from office against Superior Court Judge Howard Shore. The commission cited the findings of Presiding Judge Michael Smyth that Shore was absent from his courthouse without approval for at least 155 days, including most Fridays, between 2021 and 2022.