The lawyer for a Southern California judge has acknowledged that his client fired the deadly shot that killed his wife, but he contends it was an accident.

A Southern California judge charged with the murder of his wife took the stand Monday to testify in his own defense, telling the courtroom he accidentally shot her with the gun he carried in an ankle holster.

Michele Gile reports from Santa Ana, where Orange County Judge Jeffrey Ferguson's trial continued on Monday. Ferguson, who is on trial for his wife's murder, said that it was accidental while testifying.

Prosecutors say Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson pulled a loaded gun from his ankle holster and shot and killed his wife during an argument while the couple was watching television.

The defense attorney acknowledged that Judge Jeffrey Ferguson is an alcoholic who was arguing with his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, before pulling the gun that killed her out of his ankle holster, but denied that the Aug.

An Orange County Superior Court judge accused of fatally shooting his wife in their Anaheim home was trying to remove and set aside his ankle-holstered gun when it accidentally discharged, the jurist’s attorney told jurors Monday.