A woke female judge has been suspended after she accused a prosecutor of going after 'every young black man,' in addition to allegedly changing a jury's verdict and convicting a defendant of a crime that didn't exist.
The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled 5-2 to remove 19th Judicial District Judge Eboni Johnson Rose from her elected post on an interim basis - with pay - amid a formal investigation by the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, NOLA.com reports.
The Court ruled that she 'presents a substantial threat of serious harm to the public,' and said there 'does not appear to be direct precedent for interim disqualification under facts similar to those here.'
Among those alleged transgressions, Rose once accused District Attorney Hillar Moore's office of 'systemically targeting black people.'
The Louisiana Supreme Courtruled 5-2 to remove 19th Judicial District Judge Eboni Johnson Rose from her elected post on an interim basis
'The young man doesn't have any fricking felonies. And I know the DA probably wants every young black man in prison, but I don't,' Rose, who is black, said at an April 29 sidebar, according to the report.
'And this case is goddamn four years old now. And that's the best that y'all can come up with? You're just going to what, stick every n***** in jail?'
TheLouisiana Judiciary Commission has also said it was 'deeply concerned that Judge Rose's succession of clear legal errors in criminal cases, as well as her wholly inappropriate use of a contemptible racial slur in court... mean that Judge Rose may pose a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or the administration of justice if she remains in office.'
Records obtained by Nola.com show that she has taken an apologetic stance for her remarks that day - but argued that her actions didn't rise to the level of being sidelined.
Her attorneys described her as 'exceptionally remorseful' over the comment and 'the impact those statements have had on the agencies and individuals involved, the public and the judiciary as a whole.'
The court cited an incident in which sheaccused District Attorney Hillar Moore's office of 'systemically targeting black people'
They said Rose 'accepts full responsibility for her lapse in judgment in this regard, which resulted in an extreme aberration from her character.'
The judge went on to blame heavy stress from media coverage and said that at the time, she was suffering 'hair loss, anxiety and stomach complications as a result of the ongoing intense media scrutiny combined with the normal stressors' of the job.
But she disputed the commission's allegation that she was trying to coerce prosecutors to drop the charges in the case.
Yet the incident is only one of several cases over which the commission is investigating Rose - based on evidence she committed misconduct in four different criminal matters.
'In another case, it was alleged and reported that after a jury found a criminal defendant not guilty, Judge Rose met with the jury and then changed the verdict to guilty, which led to the granting of a mistrial and this Honorable Court having to reverse the mistrial and reinstate the not guilty verdict,' the Supreme Court's decision said.
In a third case, Rose allegedly imposed an unlawful sentence against a defendant charged with aggravated arson, then vacated it along with the guilty plea.
'Finally, a media article reported that in a fourth criminal case, Judge Rose initially convicted a defendant of a non-existent misdemeanor offense, and after it was brought to her attention that the verdict was invalid, rendered an acquittal.'
Court records show that Rose acknowledged she performed poorly in some of those cases - but claimed to the commission that she always meant well
Court records show that Rose acknowledged she performed poorly in some of those cases - but claimed to the commission that she always meant well.
Her conduct was 'by and large the unfortunate result of unintentional mistakes, oversights and inadvertent failures to be properly prepared,' Rose's attorneys wrote.
'They were not - by any measure - the result of deliberate indifference to her responsibilities to the judiciary, ill practices or bad faith.'
Rose's attorney, James Clary Jr., also insisted she would continue to cooperate in the misconduct investigation.
'We have nothing but respect for the Supreme Court's processes and rules,' he told Nola.com.
'At the end of this, we want to be better.'
