Judge Turned Inmate After Wife’s Murder Poses Prison Dilemma

Jeffrey Ferguson, the California state judge sentenced Wednesday for killing his wife, is now a challenge for state prison officials who must decide where he should serve his 35 year-to-life sentence.

Ferguson has become well-known in Southern California as details of his crime—shooting his wife and then texting his clerk to tell him he wouldn’t make it to work the next day—trickled out. Ferguson had served as a criminal judge for years in California Superior Court, Orange County, handling arraignments. He previously was a county prosecutor for decades.

Judges across the country have been convicted of crimes and served prison time before, though the exact number, especially involving state courts, isn’t clear. The judges have often served time for white collar offenses like corruption, rather than violent crimes.

Separating Ferguson from people he has prosecuted or sentenced who may seek revenge could be difficult, and mean Ferguson is sent into protective custody for a time, said Hanni Fakhoury, a partner at Moeel Lah Fakhoury LLP. He would be kept separate from other inmates and potentially have his own cell, Fakhoury said.

“It’s going to be complicated for him, and I think that there’s going to be really some concerns about security,” Fakhoury said.

Judges and other law enforcement officials, such as police officers, are often incarcerated with others who have threats against them, including inmates convicted of sex offenses or witnesses who are being protected, said Chapman University law professor Lawrence Rosenthal.

Judges sometimes are put into lower security settings to avoid people who may otherwise pose threats, Rosenthal said. As a prosecutor in Chicago, Rosenthal was involved in the convictions of several judges tied to a major judicial corruption investigation.

“It’s not as rare as you would hope for it to be,” he said.

Ferguson’s Conviction

Ferguson was convicted of shooting and killing his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, in August 2023 after arguing with her at a restaurant. After a first trial ended in a hung jury, a second trial ended in a second-degree murder conviction in April.

During the trial, Ferguson testified that the day he killed his wife he’d started drinking at lunch. Ferguson identified himself as an alcoholic and said he may have imposed criminal sentences after consuming alcohol.

Ferguson’s attorney, Cameron Talley, said he plans to appeal. Talley said the 28-day break between Ferguson’s first trial and his retrial was too short, preventing him from securing key experts. He never answered ready for trial, he said.

“He’s almost 75 years old and in terrible health,” Talley said of Ferguson. “He obviously won’t live long in jail.”

Defense attorney Al Flora, Jr., of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., represented former Pennsylvania Judge Mark Ciavarella, who was convicted and sentenced for his role in the “kids for cash” scandal. Ciaveralla and another former judge sent hundreds of children to for-profit prisons in exchange for illegal payments.

Ciavarella was at first placed in a medium facility with restrictions on where he could move around and who he’d live with, Flora said. He’s been moved to different states and is currently serving in a low-security Kentucky facility. But he hasn’t experienced any extraordinary issues while incarcerated, Flora said.

Still, Ciavarella’s situation is somewhat distinct from Ferguson’s in that the California judge, without any special consideration, could be placed alongside inmates he sentenced.

The decision about where to send Ferguson will ultimately depend on several factors, including his long sentence, the fact that he was convicted of a violent crime, his lack of prior history with the prison system, and any medical needs he might have, Fakhoury said.

Though the state prison system has access to information about which court sent someone to prison, identities of specific sentencing judges are less readily available, he said.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dmitry Gorin of Eisner Gorin LLP, who practices criminal defense nearby in Los Angeles, said he’s “not heard of the judge having any issues in custody while the case has been pending, which tells me he’s being adequately protected.”

“Prisons are inherently unsafe,” Gorin said, but the facility risks civil liability if it doesn’t provide certain protections for inmates. Los Angeles county jails—which are distinct from the state system—are facing a lawsuit from California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) over a “humanitarian crisis” the county and Sheriff’s Department allegedly failed to stop.

Inmates often turn to convicted lawyers and judges for legal advice, which can afford them an extra level of protection, Flora said.

Still, “if anybody thinks it’s a cakewalk for a judge, it’s not,” Flora said.