Carney succeeded Virginia A. Phillips as Chief Judge of the Central District of California on June 1, 2020.[8] However, he stepped down on June 26, 2020 in light of allegations that he had made racially insensitive comments regarding the Clerk of the Court, Kiry Gray, who is African American. Carney referred to Gray as “street smart” and telling her “it was not like I was the police officer standing on your neck.”[35][36][37] Carney apologized to Gray for the remark.

Casually racist… shocking…