The Louisiana State Supreme Court has officially suspended Democrat District Judge Eboni Johnson Rose for judicial misconduct, handing down a two-month active suspension and two years of probation.
Eboni Johnson Rose is a Democrat judge in Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court, elected in December 2020.
Her time on the bench has been marred by a string of egregious blunders that cast serious doubt on both her competence and impartiality—ultimately leading to her temporary suspension by the Louisiana Supreme Court in August 2024.
Among her most notorious errors, Johnson Rose convicted a woman of a lesser charge after a jury had already delivered a not guilty verdict in a case involving a firearm during a flood-related dispute.
She improperly met privately with the jury, coaxing them to change their decision, a move Justice Scott Crichton called a “blatant violation” of judicial protocol.
In another case, she convicted a former Baton Rouge police officer, Donald Steele Jr., of “misdemeanor malfeasance,” a charge that doesn’t even exist in Louisiana law, only to later acquit him after her mistake was exposed.
These rulings, overturned by higher courts, reveal a pattern of legal incompetence that undermines public trust in the judiciary.
Worse still, Johnson Rose has been accused of injecting racial bias into her courtroom. In April 2024, she berated prosecutors, alleging they wanted to “stick every n***** in jail” while handling a case involving a Black defendant.
This inflammatory language, coupled with her claim that the District Attorney’s office was “systematically targeting Black men,” suggests a dangerous politicization of her role.
Her decisions to release violent offenders, like Billy Pettice, who attacked another woman after she removed his ankle monitor, and Luke Simmons, later implicated in a drive-by shooting, further fuel conservative criticisms that she prioritizes ideology over public safety.
On Wednesday, the Louisiana Supreme Court officially suspended Judge Eboni Johnson Rose of the 19th Judicial District Court for misconduct involving egregious legal missteps, courtroom bias, and the use of profane and racially charged language.
The suspension follows a joint petition for consent discipline between Judge Rose and the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, which confirmed that Rose admitted to violating the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct and the Louisiana Constitution.
The court ordered a six-month suspension, with all but two months deferred, and placed the Democrat judge on two years of probation effective immediately.
The Supreme Court also imposed a financial penalty, ordering Judge Rose to pay $11,196.11 to cover investigative costs and to partially reimburse taxpayers for the cost of bringing in substitute judges during her disqualification. Payments are to be made over an 18-month period.
While the ruling is serious, several members of the state’s highest court dissented, arguing that the discipline didn’t go far enough.
Chief Justice John L. Weimer and Justices Crain and McCallum all issued dissents, signaling their belief that a harsher punishment would have been more appropriate given the severity of Judge Rose’s conduct.
“Since her suspension was imposed over eight months ago, Judge Rose has been paid her usual judicial salary while another judge has been paid to perform her job. This is the equivalent of a paid vacation. Judge Rose’s disciplinary violations warrant that she be suspended without pay,” wrote Crain.
“This case makes it manifestly apparent why the Louisiana constitution should be amended to address the suspension of judges with and without pay to fix this inequitable burden on the taxpayers.”
