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Still no decision on whether Judge Trudy White will move away from criminal cases
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BATON ROUGE- No decision was made today at a meeting with 15 judges at the 19th Judicial District Courthouse involving two judges who would like to shift the types of cases they hear.
Civil Court Judge Don Johnson initiated the request. He wants to move from civil to criminal court since he's set to take over drug court when Judge Anthony Marabella retires. The move for Johnson would streamline things.
Johnson asked around, and Judge Trudy White said she would be willing to switch from criminal to civil.
Judge Trudy White has come under fire recently after a man previously appeared in her courtroom and received a significant bond reduction. That man, Albert Franklin, was charged with first degree murder and hit and run related to the death of Officer Christopher Lawton. Lawton was attempting to arrest Franklin on allegations that he beat his girlfriend with an AR-15 rifle when he was run over by Franklin, who was driving a U-Haul truck.
In addition to concerns over White's decisions related to bonds, she has apologized for a 2014 re-election campaign video that some interpreted as the judge pandering to criminals with a message she'd help them get off. The video, first reported by WBRZ in October 2014, showed White with Jomo Jenkins inside a courtroom wearing a prison orange outfit.
The Judicial District Court Administrator released the following statement following the meeting:
"The matter concerning the reassignment of dockets between two judges was discussed at the meeting today, but no decision was reached. When a decision is reached, the court will issue a statement as to that decision."
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