Superior Court judge censured, agrees to resign from Santa Barbara bench
The six‑member California Commission on Judicial Performance publicly censured Judge Carrozzo on April 17, 2025.
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Carrozzo agreed last week to accept a public censure and irrevocably resign from the bench following an investigation by the California Commission on Judicial Performance into 19 allegations of misconduct spanning more than two years.
Under the stipulation for discipline by consent - essentially a plea deal - Carrozzo will step down effective September 9, 2025, and cease judicial duties as of June 2 by using accrued leave time. e has also agreed never again to serve as a judicial officer or accept any state‐court work in California.
The six‑member California Commission on Judicial Performance publicly censured Judge Carrozzo on April 17, 2025, finding that his conduct “was of a nature to undermine public respect and confidence in the integrity of the judiciary.”
The commission’s formal order identified 10 acts of willful misconduct and nine acts of prejudicial misconduct in violation of the Code of Judicial Ethics and the California Constitution.
Investigators found that over 2018–2020, Judge Carrozzo improperly composed correspondence on letterhead bearing the title “Attorney at Law” and falsely represented himself as legal counsel for his judicial secretary, Sara Eklund, whom he later married, even though judges are expressly prohibited from practicing law. Among the allegations, Carrozzo used his court email and resources to assist Eklund in disputes with an insurance company and a landlord, and transmitted at least one letter via fax from the court’s administration office.
Carrozzo was appointed to the Santa Barbara County Superior Court bench by Governor Jerry Brown in June 2014 after more than two decades as a lawyer and public servant. A graduate of UCLA (B.A.) and Loyola Law School (J.D.), he served as a deputy district attorney in Santa Barbara County beginning in 2007, a special assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and a judge advocate with the U.S. Army reserves
