Ex-judge fights suspension of law license
Print
Email
Save
Share
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
NEW ORLEANS — A former judge thrown off the bench for forcing staff members to work as campaign fundraisers, and then lying about it, is now fighting charges over the same misconduct.
C. Hunter King, who once was a civil district judge in Orleans Parish, has been suspended from practicing law by the Louisiana Supreme Court since June, when the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel began an investigation.
King’s attorneys said he has already paid for the past misconduct through both a criminal conviction for conspiracy to commit public payroll fraud and removal from the bench.
“All allegations contained in the formal charges arise from (King’s) conduct as a judge in his official capacity,” attorney Jeffrey Burg wrote in a response this month to the formal charges the disciplinary board brought in February.
The motion asks for King’s immediate reinstatement to practice law.
Criminal District Judge Julian Parker accepted King’s plea bargain with prosecutors on May 18, allowing King to admit to a single, reduced charge connected to his goading his employees into working on his re-election campaign during court hours.
Parker gave King a six-month suspended jail sentence and probation. In December, Parker ordered King’s conviction expunged and set aside, a legal move equal to an acquittal.
King originally was charged with perjury and public salary extortion. Payroll fraud carries up to two years in prison.
The board’s formal charges question whether King’s dishonesty after committing a criminal act reflect violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, which govern the behavior of lawyers.
When King was questioned by lawyers for the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, he denied everything that his court reporter, Barbara C. Wallace, had said in her complaint to the state about the forced fundraising.
King learned only after making his sworn statement that the commission had audiotapes of him telling his staff to either sell a quota of $250 tickets to his fundraiser or that he could find others who were more “enthusiastic” about such tasks.
Burg said the perjury charge also has been thrown out.
“The effect of which is the same as an acquittal,” Burg wrote. “The ODC’s basis to even impose jurisdiction has been eliminated.”
The Louisiana Supreme Court will decide the case.
