A Lafayette Judge has been suspended by the state Supreme Court.
State District Judge Royale Colbert has been suspended for six months without pay, must attend anger management classes and pay the cost of the investigation of his conduct, the high court ordered. If you want to read the ruling for yourself, scroll down.
The court ruled upon a recommendation from the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, the ruling states.
"The Commission found Judge Royale Colbert engaged in ex parte communications, improperly signed a temporary restraining order without a petition being filed, and was uncooperative and verbally combative with a police officer who stopped him for running a red light. We find violations of Canons.... of the Code of Judicial Conduct and ..... the Louisiana Constitution and impose discipline," the ruling states.
The commission recommended a suspension of 30 days, but the court found that "too lenient, we impose a six month suspension without pay."
The court's ruling lays out cases with similar findings, and compares the suspensions levied in those cases. It also discusses the details of the allegations against him in detail.
"The two counts involved are factually unrelated. However, both reflect a lack of appropriate judicial demeanor. Both involve an abuse of judicial authority, as well as a failure to understand the role of a judge as a neutral arbitrator. Both instances reflect Judge Colbert’s failure to act with the dignity expected of a judge, whether in or out of the courtroom," the ruling states.
We've reached out to Colbert to see if he has a statement on this development.
Here's the ruling:
