San Francisco, CA – A California judge resigned on Monday following a public censure and bar from the state’s Commission on Judicial Performance for multiple ethics violations, including drug use and inappropriate personal relationships. Judge Gregory J. Kreis of Humboldt County Superior Court agreed to never serve in a judicial position in the state again.
The commission charged Kreis with 21 ethics violations in recent months, including being seen using a vape pen containing cannabis oil at a public event and using cocaine frequently between 2013 and 2017. He was also accused of being intoxicated while on a boat with a group and having a two-year intimate relationship with the court’s family law facilitator, Tanya Ellis, while assigned to the court’s family law calendar.
Kreis, 53, did not deny the affair but clarified that it started in 2021, not 2019. His resignation follows the commission’s most severe sanction for a judge who has resigned or retired. The commission also cited his failure to disclose relationships with attorneys and making inappropriate comments, including antisemitic remarks.
