Latest news with #19thJudicialDistrictCourt
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Who Is Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts? Louisiana judge faces growing calls for removal over misconduct allegations
Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts, a sitting judge in Louisiana, is facing potential removal from office following a series of serious allegations and courtroom concerns that have drawn attention from legal authorities and the wider public alike, as reported by The Independent. Also read: Diddy trial: Full list of allegations and charges against the rapper The judge in question, serving on the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, has been under investigation for multiple ethical violations and professional misconduct. Among the concerns raised are misleading statements allegedly made during an election campaign, where personal and professional qualifications may have been exaggerated. The matter escalated into formal proceedings, with judicial authorities reviewing documentation and testimony about the discrepancies, as reported by WAFB9. In addition to questions surrounding past representations, the judge has also come under fire for issues within her courtroom. Legal observers have noted rising concern over how cases have been managed, particularly those involving defendants without consistent legal representation. It was revealed that public defenders were frequently reassigned or replaced, leading to case delays and potential due process concerns, as reported by The Independent. There were even instances where attorneys unfamiliar with local procedures were brought in on short notice, sparking fears about the fairness of certain proceedings. Further complicating the matter is an undisclosed relationship between the judge and a defense attorney who had represented her in a separate professional matter. That same attorney appeared before her in a succession case, raising potential conflict-of-interest concerns. The absence of transparency in this situation has led some in the legal community to question the impartiality of rulings made during that period,as reported by WAFB9. The developments have sparked wider conversations across Louisiana's legal circles about judicial accountability, transparency, and the need for reform. While no final decision has yet been made regarding her removal, the case is being closely watched as a test of how the state handles judicial discipline in high-profile situations. Also read: 2-year-old TikTok star 'Okay Baby' Preston Ordone dies in car crash in Louisiana, family disputes police report As the investigation continues, the outcome is expected to have significant implications—not only for the judge involved but also for the broader perception of fairness and ethics in the American judicial system.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Baton Rouge judge suspended; court split over paid leave
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Louisiana Supreme Court has suspended 19th Judicial District Court Judge Eboni Johnson Rose following findings of judicial misconduct. In an order issued Wednesday, the court suspended Johnson Rose from judicial office for six months without pay, though four of those months are deferred, meaning she will serve a two-month unpaid suspension immediately. She will also be placed on probation for two years and must pay more than $11,000 in associated costs. The action stems from a joint petition for consent discipline submitted by Judge Rose and the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana. In the petition, Rose admitted that her conduct in four separate criminal cases violated both the state's Code of Judicial Conduct and Louisiana's Constitution. According to court documents, Rose made 'serious legal errors' in three of the cases, and in the fourth, used profane and offensive language, including a racial slur, while expressing bias against the District Attorney's Office. Louisiana Supreme Court indefinitely suspends Baton Rouge lawyer accused of possessing child porn Judge Rose was initially removed from the bench in August 2024 under an interim suspension order, after the commission said she posed a 'substantial threat of serious harm to the public and the administration of justice.' Associate Justice William J. Crain dissented from the majority decision, calling the eight months Rose spent on paid suspension 'the equivalent of a paid vacation.' He argued she should either serve the full six months without pay or be required to reimburse taxpayers for the salary of the pro tempore judge who covered her docket. Justices James McCallum and John Weimer also dissented; Justice Piper Griffin concurred in the result but raised concerns about voter disenfranchisement in judicial disqualifications. Johnson Rose, elected to the Division K seat in December 2020, will remain on probation under a court-monitored agreement. Her disciplinary costs include more than $6,900 to help offset the cost of the temporary judges appointed during her suspension. Trump signals thaw in trade war with China Baton Rouge judge suspended; court split over paid leave Senate Republican: Hegseth is 'going to need some help around him' Family horrified as boater appears to run over manatees in Florida New details released in death of former child actress Sophie Nyweide Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Al Arabiya
19-03-2025
- Al Arabiya
Louisiana puts man to death in state's first nitrogen gas execution
Louisiana used nitrogen gas to put a man to death Tuesday evening for a killing decades ago, marking the first time the state has used the method as it resumed executions after a 15-year hiatus. Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, authorities said, adding the nitrogen gas had flowed for 19 minutes during what one official characterized as a 'flawless execution.' Witnesses to the execution said Hoffman appeared to involuntarily shake or had some convulsive activity. But the three witnesses who spoke – including two members of the media – agreed that, based on the protocol and what they learned about the execution method, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Witness Gina Swanson, a reporter with WDSU, described the execution from her viewpoint as 'clinical and procedural.' She said there was nothing that occurred during the process that made her think 'Was that right? Was that how it was supposed to go?' Hoffman declined to make a final statement in the execution chamber. He also declined a final meal. It was the fifth time nitrogen gas was used in the US after four executions by the same method – all in Alabama. Three other executions by lethal injection are scheduled this week – in Arizona on Wednesday and in Florida and Oklahoma on Thursday. Hoffman was convicted of the murder of Mary 'Molly' Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive who was killed in New Orleans. At the time of the crime, Hoffman was 18 and has since spent much of his adult life at the penitentiary in rural southeast Louisiana, where he was executed Tuesday evening. After court battles earlier this month, attorneys for Hoffman had turned to the Supreme Court in last-ditch hopes of halting the execution. Last year, the court declined to intervene in the nation's first nitrogen hypoxia execution in Alabama. Hoffman's lawyers had unsuccessfully argued that the nitrogen gas procedure – which deprives a person of oxygen – violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The man's lawyers, in a last-ditch appeal, also argued the method would infringe on Hoffman's freedom to practice religion, specifically his Buddhist breathing and meditation in the moments leading up to death. Louisiana officials maintained the method is painless. They also said it was past time for the state to deliver justice as promised to victims' families after a decade and a half hiatus – one brought on partly by an inability to secure lethal injection drugs. The Supreme Court voted 5–4 in declining to step in. Hours earlier at a hearing Tuesday, 19th Judicial District Court Judge Richard 'Chip' Moore also declined to stop the execution. He agreed with the state's lawyers who had argued the man's religion-based arguments fell under the jurisdiction of a federal judge who had already ruled on them, according to local news outlets. Under the Louisiana protocol, which is nearly identical to Alabama's, officials had earlier said Hoffman would be strapped to a gurney before a full-face respirator mask fitted tightly on him. Pure nitrogen gas was then pumped into the mask, forcing him to breathe it in and depriving him of the oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions. The protocol called for the gas to be administered for at least 15 minutes or five minutes after the inmate's heart rate reaches a flatline indication on the EKG, whichever is longer. Two media witnesses to Tuesday's execution said Hoffman was covered with a gray plush blanket from the neck down. In the chamber with Hoffman was his spiritual adviser. Ahead of the execution and after the curtains closed to the viewing room, witnesses said they could hear Buddhist chanting. The gas began to flow at 6:21 p.m., and Hoffman started twitching, media witnesses said. His hands clenched, and he had a slight head movement. Swanson said she closely watched the blanket over Hoffman's chest area and could see it rise and fall, indicating that he was breathing. She said his last visible breath appeared to be at 6:37 p.m. Shortly after, the curtains between the chamber and witness viewing room closed. When they reopened, Hoffman was pronounced dead. Seth Smith, chief of operations at the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, witnessed the execution and also acknowledged Hoffman's movements. Smith, who has a medical background, said he perceived the convulsions to be an involuntary response to dying and that Hoffman appeared to be unconscious at the time. Each inmate put to death using nitrogen in Alabama had appeared to shake and gasp to varying degrees during their executions, according to media witnesses, including an Associated Press reporter. Alabama state officials said the reactions were involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation. Alabama first used nitrogen gas to put Kenneth Eugene Smith to death last year, marking the first time a new method had been used in the US since lethal injection was introduced in 1982. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma specifically authorize execution by nitrogen hypoxia, according to records compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center. Arkansas was added to the list on Tuesday. Seeking to resume executions, Louisiana's GOP-dominated Legislature expanded the state's approved death penalty methods last year to include nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution. Lethal injection was already in place. On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation allowing executions using nitrogen gas, making hers the fifth state to adopt the method. Arkansas currently has 25 people on death row. Over recent decades, the number of executions nationally has declined sharply amid legal battles, a shortage of lethal injection drugs, and waning public support for capital punishment. That has led a majority of states to either abolish or pause carrying out the death penalty. On Tuesday afternoon, a small group of execution opponents held a vigil outside the rural southeast Louisiana prison at Angola, where the state's executions are carried out. Some passed out prayer cards with photos of a smiling Hoffman and planned a Buddhist reading and 'Meditation for Peace.' Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she expects at least four people to be executed this year in the state. Following Hoffman's execution, she said justice had been delayed for far too long and now Hoffman 'faces the ultimate judgement, the judgement before God.'
Boston Globe
19-03-2025
- Boston Globe
Louisiana puts man to death in its first nitrogen gas execution
Hoffman was convicted of the murder of Mary 'Molly' Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive who was killed in New Orleans. At the time of the crime, Hoffman was 18 and has since spent much of his adult life at the penitentiary in rural southeast Louisiana, where he was executed Tuesday evening. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up After court battles earlier this month, attorneys for Hoffman had turned to the Supreme Court in last-ditch hopes of halting the execution. Last year, the court declined to intervene in the nation's first nitrogen hypoxia execution, in Alabama. Advertisement Hoffman's lawyers had unsuccessfully argued that the nitrogen gas procedure — which deprives a person of oxygen — violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The man's lawyers, in a last-ditch appeal, also argued the method would infringe on Hoffman's freedom to practice religion, specifically his Buddhist breathing and meditation in the moments leading up to death. Louisiana officials maintained the method is painless. They also said it was past time for the state to deliver justice as promised to victims' families after a decade and a half hiatus — one brought on partly by an inability to secure lethal injection drugs. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 in declining to step in. This undated photo shows Louisiana death row inmate Jessie Hoffman Jr., who was convicted in the 1996 murder of Mary "Molly" Elliott. Caroline Tillman/Associated Press Hours earlier at a hearing Tuesday, a 19th Judicial District Court Judge Richard 'Chip' Moore also declined to stop the execution. He agreed with the state's lawyers who had argued the man's religion-based arguments fell under the jurisdiction of a federal judge who had already ruled on them, according to local news outlets. Advertisement Under the Louisiana protocol, which is nearly identical to Alabama's, officials had earlier said Hoffman would be strapped to a gurney before a full-face respirator mask fitted tightly on him. Pure nitrogen gas was then pumped into the mask, forcing him to breathe it in and depriving him of the oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions. The protocol called for the gas to be administered for at least 15 minutes or five minutes after the inmate's heart rate reaches a flatline indication on the EKG, whichever is longer. Each inmate put to death using nitrogen in Alabama had appeared to shake and gasp to varying degrees during their executions, according to media witnesses, including an Associated Press reporter. Alabama state officials said the reactions were involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation. Alabama first used the lethal gas to put Kenneth Eugene Smith to death last year, marking the first time a new method had been used in the US since lethal injection was introduced in 1982. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma specifically authorize execution by nitrogen hypoxia, according to records compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center. Arkansas was added to the list on Tuesday. An undated photo provided by The Promise of Justice Initiative shows the gurney in the new execution chamber at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Uncredited/Associated Press Seeking to resume executions, Louisiana's GOP-dominated Legislature expanded the state's approved death penalty methods last year to include nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution. Lethal injection was already in place. On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation allowing executions using nitrogen gas, making hers the fifth state to adopt the method. Arkansas currently has 25 people on death row. Over recent decades, the number of executions nationally has declined sharply amid legal battles, a shortage of lethal injection drugs and waning public support for capital punishment. That has led a majority of states to either abolish or pause carrying out the death penalty. Advertisement On Tuesday afternoon, a small group of execution opponents held a vigil outside the rural southeast Louisiana prison at Angola, where the state's executions are carried out. Some passed out prayer cards with photos of a smiling Hoffman and planned a Buddhist reading and 'Meditation for Peace.' Attorney General Liz Murrill said she expects at least four people to be executed this year in Lousiana. Ahead of Hoffman's execution, she said 'justice will finally be served' by putting him to death.
CBS News
18-03-2025
- CBS News
Judge declines inmate's last-minute plea to halt Louisiana's first nitrogen gas execution
Hours before a Louisiana man was scheduled to be put to death Tuesday, his attorneys hoped for a last-minute court ruling to halt the state's first execution by nitrogen gas. But the judge declined the request, paving the way for the execution to move forward. Louisiana plans to use nitrogen gas to put Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, to death Tuesday evening in the state's first execution in 15 years. Nitrogen gas has been used just four other times to execute a person in the United States — all in Alabama , the only other state with a protocol for the method. Hoffman's attorneys say the method is unconstitutional, violating the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. They also say that it infringes on Hoffman's freedom to practice religion, specifically his Buddhist breathing and meditation in the moments leading up to his death. Louisiana officials maintain that the method is painless and say it is past time for the state to deliver justice promised to victims' families after a decade and a half hiatus. Attorney General Liz Murrill says that she expects at least four people on Louisiana's death row to be executed this year. On Monday, Hoffman's attorneys filed a slew of additional challenges in state and federal courts as a last-ditch effort to stop the execution. The 19th Judicial District Court Judge Richard "Chip" Moore considered one of the challenges at a hearing Tuesday morning, which involved the question of whether the execution as planned violated Hoffman's religious freedom under the Preservation of Religious Freedom Act. But the state judge in Baton Rouge ultimately declined to the halt the impending procedure, CBS News affiliate WAFB reported . The judge on Monday had issued a temporary restraining order — preventing the state from executing Hoffman — pending the Tuesday morning hearing. The restraining order was to expire at 9:30 a.m., with the execution scheduled to take place hours later on Tuesday evening. After court battles earlier this month, a federal judge temporarily halted Hoffman's execution by nitrogen gas last week, issuing a preliminary injunction to stop the state from immediately carrying out his death sentence. An appeals court quickly reversed that injunction, and in the wake of Tuesday's hearing Hoffman's attorneys have just one final appeal out to the United States Supreme Court to halt the execution. However, the court declined to intervene in the nation's first nitrogen hypoxia execution last year. Murrill said that she expects the execution to go forward as planned and that "justice will finally be served." Hoffman was convicted of the 1996 murder of Mary "Molly" Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive, in New Orleans. Under Louisiana protocol, which is nearly identical to Alabama's, Hoffman will be strapped to a gurney and have a full-face respirator mask — similar to what is used by painters and sandblasters — fitted tightly on him. Pure nitrogen gas will then be pumped into the mask, forcing him to breathe it in and depriving him of the oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions. The nitrogen gas will be administered for at least 15 minutes or five minutes after his heart rate reaches a flatline indication on the EKG, whichever is longer. Each inmate put to death using nitrogen in Alabama has appeared to shake and gasp to varying degrees during their executions, according to media witnesses, including a reporter form The Associated Press. The reactions are involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation, state officials have said. Currently, four states — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma — specifically authorize execution by nitrogen hypoxia, according to records compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center. Alabama first used the lethal gas to put Kenneth Eugene Smith to death last year, marking the first time a new method had been used in the U.S. since lethal injection was introduced in 1982. In an effort to resume executions, Louisiana's GOP-dominated Legislature expanded the state's approved death penalty methods last year to include nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution. Lethal injection was already in place. Over recent decades, the number of executions nationally has declined sharply amid legal battles, a shortage of lethal injection drugs and waning public support for capital punishment. That has led a majority of states to either abolish or pause carrying out the death penalty. Hoffman is scheduled to be the seventh death row execution in the country this year.
