Judge suspended for two months without pay

Judge suspended for two months without pay

• Guillory “abused the contempt power” in two cases “by denying fair treatment to the defendants and holding the defendants in contempt without proper justification,” which the commission said “demonstrated a lack of proper judicial temperament and abuse of his judicial authority.”

• He also “failed, refused, or was unable to perform his judicial duties” – including a refusal to arraign defendants in at least four cases, a failure to properly sentence individuals in at least six cases, and a failure to complete arraignment forms correctly in at least six cases.

• Guillory “engaged in ex parte communications with litigants.” Specifically, he was visiting with litigants, officers and bail bondsmen during smoke breaks, discussing specific cases “outside and in front of the courthouse.”

• The judge also “regularly took short naps at his desk during the noon hour, within view of the court staff and the public,” and on one occasion, fell asleep “while three defendants were waiting for paperwork from his clerk.”

• While hearing one case in 2008, Guillory assisted an officer “in presenting his case.”

• Within earshot of the public, he voiced his “discontentment” with Presiding Magistrate Judge Oscar Frietze and referred to him “in a condescending manner.”