SANTA ANA, Calif. — The lawyer for a Southern California judge acknowledged Monday that his client fired the deadly shot that killed his wife but contended it was an accident.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson sat in the courtroom about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away from where he previously presided over criminal cases, waiting for his turn to testify in his own trial. The 74-year-old judge is charged with the murder of his wife, Sheryl, for shooting her in August 2023 after the couple had been arguing about family finances while watching “Breaking Bad” on television.
Ferguson’s lawyer, Cameron J. Talley, said his client was an alcoholic and had been drinking when he began removing a gun he always carried with him in an ankle holster and went to place it on a table. Talley said Ferguson fumbled the gun, then reached to grab it and it went off with a “bang.”
“He’s in shock,” Talley told jurors, and called the shot an “accidental discharge.” “It’s dreamlike to him, and it doesn’t help that he’s a little drunk.”
The comments came during Talley’s opening statement in a case that has roiled the legal community in Orange County, which is home to 3 million people between Los Angeles and San Diego. Ferguson, who is expected to testify this week, has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
Prosecutors allege Ferguson made a gun hand gesture toward his wife earlier in the evening after the couple argued about family finances while dining at a Mexican restaurant with their adult son, Phillip. Prosecutor Seton Hunt said the arguing continued at home until Sheryl Ferguson chided her husband to point a real gun at her, after which he did and pulled the trigger.
Ferguson was taken into custody, and in comments captured on a police video recording, pleaded for a jury to convict him.
“I killed her,” Ferguson is heard saying. “I did it.”
Ferguson, who used to be a criminal prosecutor, has cried from his seat at the defense table during the trial. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter, who is presiding over the case to avoid a conflict of interest, warned he won’t be allowed to sob from the witness stand. “He’s got to control himself,” she said.
The trial has included extensive footage from cameras worn by police officers who arrived at the couple’s home in Anaheim Hills after the shooting. There is also video footage of Ferguson handcuffed at the police station following his arrest, in which he’s seen sobbing and saying his son and everyone would hate him.
Authorities said they found 47 weapons, including the gun from Ferguson’s ankle holster, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition at the home. Hunt said Ferguson had ample experience and training in operating firearms, and Phillip Ferguson testified that his father taught him firearm safety, including to always point a weapon in a safe direction.
Immediately after the shooting, Jeffrey Ferguson and his son both called 911, and Ferguson texted his court clerk and bailiff saying, “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry,” according to a copy of a text message Hunt showed jurors.
Ferguson was released on $1 million bail in 2023 but re-arrested last year after Hunter found he had lied about drinking alcohol in violation of his bail conditions. Ferguson was later released on $2 million bail.
Ferguson has been an elected judge in Orange County for a decade but is not currently hearing cases. Under the state’s constitution, a judge who faces a felony charge can continue to draw a salary but can’t hear cases.
Ferguson began his legal career in the district attorney’s office in 1983 and went on to work narcotics cases, for which he won various awards, and was president of the North Orange County Bar Association from 2012 to 2014.
He was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance in 2017 for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate “with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement,” and for being Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency’s findings.
On his Facebook page, Ferguson said he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child. He attended college and law school in California and married his wife in 1996.