Judge Sheva Sims pictured during a local news report about her alleged ethics violations (KSLA).
The chief judge of a local Louisiana court accused of wrongly releasing domestic abuse suspects, displaying a "rude" demeanor and a case of "black robe-itis," all while treating her courtroom "as her fiefdom," must be disciplined and suspended for a year without pay, the Pelican State's top court heard Tuesday.
Shreveport City Court Chief Judge Sheva Sims is no stranger to disciplinary proceedings, having once been suspended in 2015 for inappropriately wielding her contempt power and admonished in 2016 for "being habitually late for court," and now the Louisiana Judiciary Commission has alleged a slew of ethics violations that could leave three other judges on the four-judge court to deal with her caseload.
The Office of Special Counsel's Michelle Beaty, responding to claims that Sims was under scrutiny for "truly isolated incidents," said Tuesday that a series of isolated incidents is actually a "pattern," and that Sims should be punished for that "misconduct," reportedly dubbed "black robe-itis." Plus, instances of prior discipline and 14 years as a judge mean Sims "should know better," the lawyer added, according to the Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate.
A lengthy document from November, which included as recommended discipline a yearlong suspension with pay plus $11,602.56 in reimbursement to the Judiciary Commission, alleged that Sims committed "multiple instances and types of ethical misconduct […] all of which reflect her continued belief that her position as a judge enables her to act with impunity."
Following an investigation, the documents said, Sims' "impatience and condescension towards a litigant, her misuse" of a publicly-funded "court car for personal use" on her commute for several weeks and having court marshals fuel it, her "use of independently obtained documents to question and discredit a witness, and her pattern of failing to follow the law with regard to the bond conditions and sentencing of criminal defendants" was "proven by clear and convincing evidence[.]"
The complaints, described as "numerous," came from "anonymous" individuals, from managers of properties who said Sims was "rude and demeaning" when denying evictions, and from retired Justice Joseph Bleich.
Bleich alleged that Sims "failed to follow the law" when she released "several defendants charged with domestic abuse battery or crimes of violence on their own recognizance," the documents continued.
The "varied misconduct," the Judiciary Commission alleged, shows Sims is treating her court "as her fiefdom" and is "indifferent to whether she is abusing or exceeding her judicial authority and acting contrary to the law or her ethical obligations, as further evidenced by her lack of contrition in the present proceeding."
As to the release of accused domestic abusers, the Commission said Sims "acknowledged that defendants charged with domestic abuse battery or crimes of violence cannot be released on their own recognizance" under the law.
"[W]hen asked about the reasons she released the ten individuals, Judge Sims offered broad defenses suggesting that the minute entries were incorrect or that she released the defendants due to medical issues, issues with the jail, or because the prosecutor and defense reached an agreement to dismiss the charges upon the completion of a diversion or probation program," documents said, pointing out that the "direct language of the law" says "any" such defendant "shall not be released on his personal undertaking or with an unsecured personal surety[.]"
Sims' lawyer Carl Hellmers, seeming to understand that prior discipline against his client could come back to haunt her, said that if the court determined that a sanction was warranted that it should be a suspension of up to 60 days, local CBS affiliate KSLA's video of the attorney's remarks showed.
"Part of that is based on the fact that a lot of the issues that have been raised here in connection with her management of courtroom issues either through evictions or through criminal issues are determinations that she made in the context of a good-faith effort to discharge her judicial duties," the lawyer said, emphasizing the Judiciary Commission deemed two allegations of rudeness "unproven."
One count for inappropriate "demeanor" during an eviction hearing did in part stand up in the Commission's view, however.
While her behavior "might not ordinarily be considered serious enough to warrant a recommendation of discipline," documents said, Sims' "needlessly discourteous" treatment of a "relatively inexperienced yet respectful" pro se litigant — telling her, among other things, "I heard you the first time. I don't have a hearing problem. Would you like to say it one more time, ma'am?" — nonetheless fell short of conduct befitting a judge.
"Throughout the eviction hearing, Judge Sims was rude to a pro se litigant in a courtroom full of other litigants and court personnel, focused on issues that were not relevant to the requested relief and appeared to rule against the weight of the evidence, and demanded that the litigant accept payment even after being informed it was against her company's policy," documents went on. "The Commission therefore also determined there to be clear and convincing evidence that Judge Sims' actions at the O'Neal eviction hearing constituted 'willful misconduct relating to her official duty' and 'persistent and public misconduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the office into disrepute[.]"
Hellmers, noting Sims has handled between 15,000 and 20,000 evictions, said his client admitted "different words could have been used" but that she was nonetheless within her right to sternly probe the litigant's truthfulness about a tenant's alleged lease violations.
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