La. Judge Suspended 30 Days Over Remarks at Domestic Abuse Hearing
A Houma, La., judge has been suspended over comments he made at a hearing in which a woman was seeking a temporary restraining order against her husband, including calling her petition “crap.”
The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana suspended Judge Timothy Ellender Was for 30 days without pay and fined him $185, WWL-TV reported.
Ellender asked the couple at the hearing, which was recorded on audiotape, why they didn’t divorce rather than “go through this crap.” He then told them how they could file for divorce without an attorney. The woman was denied the TRO, and later filed a complaint.
Ellender admitted to the disciplinary committee that he was “short, curt, discourteous, impatient and dismissive,” but didn’t this his behavior rose to the level of a conduct violation, WWL-TV reported.
Ellender was also suspended without pay in 2004 after attending a Halloween party in blackface and a prison jumpsuit.
Hat Tip: Above the Law
