California IN BRIEF : RICHMOND : Judge Investigated for Dating Witness

A Municipal Court judge is under investigation after admitting she secretly dated a police officer, whom she later married, while he was a key prosecution witness in a drug case she handled. The Commission on Judicial Performance is investigating Judge Irene Takahashi, said Municipal Judge Julie Conger, who is now handling the drug case. Takahashi said she did not reveal her affair with El Cerrito Officer Michael Ramirez as she should have before an October, 1989, preliminary hearing. Takahashi said her failure to disclose the relationship deprived two defendants of their constitutional right to a fair and impartial hearing.