Check out LLAW Executive Director Melissa Landry’s column in The Advocate on judicial accountability:
At a hearing to consider three basic judicial reform bills aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in our courts, 15th Judicial District Court Judge Jules Edwards III, who is also currently serving as president of the Louisiana District Judges Association, testified that the sole purpose of the proposed legislation was to “talk bad about the judges.” He also suggested that the state’s judiciary has developed a poor reputation simply because of comments that have been made by supporters of the proposed reform legislation — in short, a perception problem rather than a real problem.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and Judge Edwards’ testimony underscores a fundamental misunderstanding of the challenges facing our state’s judiciary.
To be clear: Our judiciary is often described, inside and outside of the state, as corrupt because a significant number of our judges engage in ethical misconduct. Since 2000, at least nine judges have been removed or suspended from the bench due to severe violations of the judicial canons and many, many others have been sanctioned. Read more...