Counsel for the Commission on Judicial Performance argued Wednesday that a panel of three special masters made “significant erroneous findings” when it concluded this summer that prosecutors had failed to prove an Orange County judge committed misconduct while working previously as a deputy district attorney.

At an hourlong hearing in San Francisco, trial counsel Mark Lizarraga urged the 11-member commission to set aside the masters’ findings and to discipline Superior Court Judge Michael Murray, who is accused of withholding potentially exculpatory evidence in a homicide case.