A lawyer representing Judge Michael S. Williams said he had decided against fighting the allegations because he wanted to retire anyway.

The California judge took card holders worth up to $50 each from a Judge’s Night dinner hosted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

A complaint lodged with judicial authorities states that Judge Williams “pocketed at least one cardholder, left, and then returned and took one or two more”, the Los Angeles Times reports.

When advised that the act was caught on CCTV, he returned the card holders with an apology that blamed alcohol for his poor judgement.

He then notified the Council of Judicial Performance of what he had done.

Judge Williams will take leave from the bench in October and will resign from office altogether in December.