(The Center Square) — Louisiana’s judicial disciplinary agency has recommended a one-year suspension without pay for Shreveport City Judge Sheva Sims following its investigation into allegations of ethical misconduct.
The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana also said Sims should reimburse the agency $11,602 for costs related to the investigation. The Louisiana Supreme Court will determine the final penalty.
Sims, elected to the court in 2011, had a $103,652 salary as of 2024, according to public records. Her assistant on Tuesday said Sims had no comment on the Commission’s recommendation.
The agency in 2024 began looking into complaints that stemmed from “multiple instances and types of ethical misconduct by (Sims) .. all of which reflect her continued belief that her position as a judge enables her to act with impunity,” according to the agency’s report, issued Thursday.
Landlords accused Sims of “rude and demeaning” behavior and said she improperly denied the evictions they sought, the report said.
Sims “used a court-owned car for her own personal commute for several weeks and instructed court marshals to provide the fuel,” according to anonymous complaints cited in the report.
She “failed to impose a mandatory bail condition for a defendant charged with a second offense of driving under the influence” according to the report, and “released several defendants charged with domestic abuse battery of crimes of violence on their own recognizance and gave one defendant credit for time served before the occurrence of the traffic offense before her.”
Sims “continues to treat the 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,” the report said.
In hearings on the matter, Sims defended her decisions. She testified she didn’t have access to her personal vehicle at the time and kept the court-owned car overnight and on weekends but did not drive it for personal use.
She said the defendants were released “due to medical issues, issues with the jail or because the prosecutor and defense reached an agreement to dismiss the charges upon completion of a diversion or probation program,” the report said.
She acknowledged some legal errors, according to the report, but said they “should not give rise to a complaint and/or discipline,” the report said.
Eleven of the Commission’s 14 members agreed with its findings. Eight voted for a one-year suspension, while two recommended Sims be removed from office. Another suggested a six-month suspension. Three members were not present for the vote.
Sims was suspended without pay for 30 days in 2015 “after she held a prosecutor in contempt for conduct that was not contemptuous and impermissibly dismissed 15 of the prosecutor’s criminal cases without any legal authority to do so, which were actions solely based upon Judge Sims’ personal frustration with the prosecutor’s justified refusal to privately meet with her,” according to the report.
The Commission also previously admonished her “for being habitually late for court” and for demanding that a deputy marshal be disciplined after he told another judge that she had improperly recessed her court.
