Opinion ID: 1950806
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: formal charge and judiciary commission findings

Text: In Formal Charge No. 0229, as supplemented and amended, the Judiciary Commission alleges that Justice of the Peace Cook assumed office in 1994 and, since then, has never attended mandatory justice of the peace training required by La. Rev.Stat. 49:251.1 and La.Rev.Stat. 13:2589. The Commission next alleges that Justice of the Peace Cook failed to respond to a letter of inquiry from the Office of Special Counsel dated June 26, 2003. The Commission also alleges that Justice of the Peace Cook was informed by the Office of the Attorney General by letter dated April 13, 2004, that its records showed that he had not attended the required training course within the prior two years. The Commission next alleges that, though both the Commission, by letter dated May 12, 2004, and the Attorney General, by letter dated May 24, 2004, informed Justice of the Peace Cook of a special training course for those justices of the peace who had not complied with the mandatory training requirements, Justice of the Peace Cook failed to attend the special training course conducted August 26-27, 2004. Finally, the Commission charged that Justice of the Peace Cook violated Canons 1, 2A, 3A(1), and 3A(2) [2] of the Code of Judicial Conduct; that he engaged in willful misconduct relating to his official duty in violation of La. Const. art. V, § 25(C). Though he was served with notice of the formal charge and the hearing before the Judiciary Commission, as well as a subpoena commanding his appearance, Justice of the Peace Cook failed to appear at the hearing. After receiving the testimony of Ms. Elizabeth Libby Noto, the training and education coordinator for the Office of the Attorney General, and various exhibits showing that Justice of the Peace Cook had been notified of his violation of the mandatory training requirement, as well as the opportunity for a make-up session, the Commission found the factual allegations in the charge had been established by clear and convincing evidence. The Commission specifically found that Justice of the Peace Cook did not attend any training courses pursuant to La.Rev. Stat. 49:251.1 and La.Rev.Stat. 13:2589 during the period of time in which the Attorney General's Office was keeping attendance reports and that respondent did not attend the special course conducted in August 2004. The Commission concluded that Justice of the Peace Cook's failure to attend these training sessions violated Canons 1 and 2A of the Code of Judicial Conduct and La. Const. art. V, § 25(C). [3] As for a sanction for this misconduct, the Commission recommended that Justice of the Peace Cook be removed from judicial office and be ordered to pay $129.50 in costs.