California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Fletcher v. Commission on Judicial Performance, 19 Cal.4th 865, 81 Cal.Rptr.2d 58, 968 P.2d 958 (Cal. 1998):
As we recently explained, willful misconduct requires a finding by clear and convincing evidence that the judge acted in bad faith. "A judge acts in bad faith only by (1) performing a judicial act for a corrupt purpose (which is any purpose other than the faithful discharge of judicial duties), or (2) performing a judicial act with knowledge that the act is beyond the judge's lawful judicial power, or (3) performing a judicial act that exceeds the [19 Cal.4th 922] judge's lawful power with a conscious disregard for the limits of the judge's authority." (Broadman v. Commission on Judicial Performance (1998) 18 Cal.4th 1079, 1092, 77 Cal.Rptr.2d 408, 959 P.2d 715.)
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