Judge is suspended for 30 days over trip to lawyer's hunting ranch after $1.2M case was settled
A Louisiana judge has been suspended without pay for 30 days for taking an expense-paid three-day trip, after a personal injury case was settled for $1.2 million, to a Texas hunting ranch owned by an attorney in the case
District Judge J. Robin Free, who is known for his hunting expertise, took the 2010 trip at the invitation of an attorney who was potentially interested in buying the property and asked Free to come with him to look at it, reports the Advocate.
However, doing so created an appearance of impropriety, said the Louisiana Supreme Court in a Tuesday opinion (PDF).
“From the beginning, Free has been apologetic, and he accepts the Supreme Court’s opinion,” his lawyer, Steve Scheckman, told the newspaper.
Hat tip: New Orleans City Business
