Monday, June 8, 2026
Page 1
Draper Appears Defeated
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert S. Draper’s percentage of the votes in the June 2 primary election is dwindling, with there now being near certainty that he has been topped by challenger Tal K. Valbuena, a deputy district attorney.
As of press time Friday, Valbuena had 673,516 votes, or 53.32%; 589,549 ballots, or 46.68%, were cast in favor of Draper.
The incumbent, 84, is facing the prospect of removal from office by the Commission on Judicial Performance based either on disciplinary charges or through an involuntary disability retirement. Formal proceedings were conducted last month.
Draper is accused of rambling, irrelevant discourses from the bench. He admits to having been under the care of a psychiatrist but said in an April 26, 2022 email to the court’s presiding judge and assistant presiding judge that “the psychiatrist supposedly helping me overcome my Parkinson’s symptoms has instead been poisoning me.”
He has been, since June 1, 2023, assigned to chambers work, only.
Copyright 2026, Metropolitan News Company