In 2023, Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was convicted of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, following a drunken argument at their Anaheim, California, home. Ferguson admitted to shooting his wife but claimed it was an accident, which the jury rejected.
The trial concluded with a guilty verdict after the first trial ended in a deadlock. Prosecutors argued that Ferguson, heavily drinking, pointed a real gun at his wife during an argument about money, which led to the shooting. Their son witnessed the incident and tried to intervene by wrestling the gun away. Ferguson subsequently texted his court bailiff and clerk about the shooting before being arrested.
Ferguson had served as a judge since 2015 and had a background as a prosecutor before that. Following the shooting, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office requested permission from the California Attorney General’s Office to prosecute the case due to a conflict check. Ferguson was initially released on bail but had it revoked in September 2024 after violating the terms of his release by consuming alcohol.
The jury’s guilty verdict in 2023 comes with a potential maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison for Ferguson. The case was retried due to a mistrial after the first trial ended in a deadlock. Prosecutors emphasized that the shooting was not an accident and was a “cold and calculated” act by Ferguson.
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