An Orange County Superior Court judge facing a murder charge in the fatal shooting of his wife is facing the revocation of his bond for violating terms of his release while awaiting trial.

Judge Jeffrey Malcolm Ferguson, 73, is accused of drinking alcohol, which is a violation of the terms of his bail as he awaits trial for the Aug. 3, 2023, shooting of his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl, at their Anaheim Hills home.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter heard evidence in the motion to revoke his bail on Thursday. The hearing is scheduled to continue next Friday.

Ferguson's attorney, Ed Welbourn, argued in court papers that his client did not consume alcohol in a violation of his ankle-monitoring system.

The defense attorney blamed it on his client's use of cortizone anti-itch cream and hand sanitzer gel containing alcohol triggering the ankle-monitoring system.

Ferguson's "violation was unintentional, and the court should therefore permit the electronic alcohol monitoring to continue," Welbourn said in court papers.

The judge applied the cream and gel "on his skin under the ankle monitor to help ease the blistering, redness and swelling, which is what caused the ankle monitor to spike," Welbourn said.

Ferguson said in court papers that he suffers from "intermittent symptoms associated with a chronic kidney failure condition that I have had for the past several years, that includes periods of lower leg edema and swelling from time to time."

He noticed "mild swelling" in his legs the morning of Aug. 26, but it went away overnight, but by the next day the swelling returned and it made the ankle bracelet "snug," Ferguson said.

By Wednesday, the swelling had progressed enough that the bracelet "was now deeply pressed into my left lower leg," which led to "severe discomfort," Ferguson said.

When he tried to adjust the bracelet for relief, he noticed it was "reddened" and his skin was "chafed and discolored," he said.

He used the hand sanitizer to ward off infection, he said.

He called his contact for the monitoring bracelet, but there was no answer on Thursday, he said. So he left a voicemail to make an appointment to get the bracelet adjusted to relieve the pain of the rash, he said.

Due to the Labor Day weekend, he did not get in touch with his contact until Sept. 4, and he made an appointment to get the ankle monitor adjusted.

"I have not consumed alcohol for over a year, and I did not consume any alcohol on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, 2024," he said in court papers.

Ferguson is prohibited from drinking alcohol as he awaits trial. Prosecutors alleged he was intoxicated when he shot his wife.