So I got the music post up and was headed out the door to Buzzard’s Roost for a late Friday afternoon appointment when the phone rang and my appointment cancelled. Then Sock emailed me the link to a breaking story involving newly elected 24th Judicial District Judge Ray Steib, by all accounts a conservative guy, who nonetheless garnered the Slabbed Seal of Approval because we thought he was honest. In fact we still do think he is honest and impartial and we hope he will maintain a distance from the corrupting influences of Magnum JD.
Lest I digress further I’ll add the Louisiana Judicial Commission also evidently thinks Steib the honest sort as they absolved him of the complaints filed by his two former opponents for Joan Benge’s old seat on the court as reported today by Paul Purpura. This is rich because these guys who filed the complaints, Times Picayune endorsed Ungarino & Eckert partner Don Klotz and a former occupant of the “Warren Suite” at the Do Slabb Inn, Debbie Villio have all sorts of skeletons, especially Villio who popped back up on the Slab just this morning in connection with potential payroll fraud in Parish Government. Ungarino & Eckert, well let’s just say those guys don’t enjoy a very good rep among their peers at the present time.
Next up is a guest post by SupaSleuth in comments involving good old-fashioned kickbacks on various crime camera programs across the state of Louisiana. Today the Tech Chief for Baton Rouge hit the exits as this scandal, with origins in the Nagin Administration, has spread like wildfire.
Finally the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals bitch slapped Judge Ivan Lemelle and his screwed up, pro defense pretrial ruling in the criminal case involving Dollar Bill Jefferson’s brother Moses Jefferson and his squeeze, former NOLA City Councilwoman Renee Gill Pratt. Judge Lemelle has a record of some very dubious rulings in the insurance litigation though he remains Ashton’s favorite judge in all of the LAED. 😉
I’ll add we received new reader horror stories concerning the practice of law before Judge Ivan after my last post on him linked above in the insurance litigation. I wish we could blog on those cases without risking retaliation by da Judge on the lawyers involved but we must remain silent.
Time for an adult beverage containing an Olive.
sop
If anyone ever earned a Friday martini, you did this week. Have a few.
Sock, I agree. SOP’s work in the past 24 to 48 hours has been prolifigate! Have a cocktail, SOP! Ashton.
The Louisiana Judiciary Commission are corrupt pieces of shit. I reported the criminal conduct directed against me by now Supreme Court “Injustice” Catherine D. Kimball who incidentally shares office space in the same building as the Judiciary Commission, and the result was: NOTHING. I reported judicial misconduct in my civil litigation arising out of that incident (summarily dismissed “on-the-papers”, with no transcript of any proceedings), with the same result: NOTHING. I repeat: THE LOUISIANA JUDICIARY COMMISSION ARE CORRUPT PIECES OF SHIT. Ashton O’Dwyer.