PLAQUEMINE – Suspended 18th Judicial District Judge Robin Free is retiring, according to a letter filed by the Louisiana Secretary of State.
 

Free was suspended for one year and was ordered to pay an $11,000 fine in June 2016 after he was accused by the Judiciary Commission of interfering in both civil and criminal matters before his court. He was also accused of making inappropriate comments to defendants before him and holding people in contempt of court without regard to Supreme Court guidelines. 

In 2014, Free was suspended for one month without pay after he admitted to taking a trip to a hunting ranch out of state, that was paid for by attorneys who had pending cases in his court. He was also scolded by Supreme Court Justices for using slang with racial overtones. 

In the letter addressed to the Secretary of State announcing his retirement, Free wrote "It has been a pleasure to serve the citizens of the 18th Judicial District and the State of Louisiana.
 

Free's retirement is effective Thursday, July 13, 2017. 

Free has been a judge of the 18th Judicial District, Division B in West Baton Rouge Parish since 1996.