Louisiana Supreme Court docket suspends Denham Springs decide over moral violations in little one custody case Messages

The Louisiana Supreme Court has suspended a Denham Springs judge who gave “improper” advice to a maternal grandmother in a custody case he oversaw.

The state’s highest court found that Judge Jerry Denton had committed “continued and public conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice” and “willful misconduct in relation to official duties” by communicating with a grandmother involved in a child custody case he led.

In a 4-3 decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court suspended Denton, the only judge in the city of Denham Springs, for four months without pay. He was also slapped with a $4,676 fine.

The three dissenting judges said they were in favor of a harsher sentence recommended by the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, which proposed a six-month suspension without pay and costs.

Denton’s communication with the grandmother lasted six months, from March 2018 to August 2018, according to a Judiciary Commission report. In its report, the commission said Denton advised the grandmother on how to visit her grandchildren – after giving the father custody – through a series of Facebook messages, text messages and phone calls.

“Judge Denton acknowledged the inappropriateness of his actions and expressed remorse,” the commission said. “However, the Commission was concerned that Judge Denton did not provide a satisfactory explanation as to why he engaged in the conduct.”

In March 2018, Denton received a message from a grandmother asking for a “heart-to-heart talk” about her custody battle with her grandchildren’s father. Although he awarded the father full custody at a hearing three weeks later, Denton eventually gave the grandmother the name and number of a private investigator “and told her he was going to keep an eye on the father,” according to court documents.

“I’m so sorry for your ongoing pain,” Denton wrote in a message dated April 12, 2018, according to court documents. “I don’t have an answer, but I’m working on the whole situation. I assure you because I am not satisfied with the current requirements as they currently exist. Keep praying and I will do the same.”

Denton eventually offered to give the grandmother a “special assignment” that would allow her to take her grandchildren to Disney World, something the father’s attorney “strongly opposed.” Denton referred to the father’s resistance in another text, although the special order was never issued.

“I have problems with the state and it’s harder because his attorney is fighting us fiercely,” Denton said in a message to the grandmother on May 24, 2018.

Among its findings, the commission also learned that Denton attempted to “[mislead] a fellow judge by not disclosing his personal involvement in the custody matter and disparaging an attorney.” Denton also asked the grandmother to file a motion for custody in the district court, following the advice of her attorney, the commission said.

“Judge Denton’s misconduct has compromised the integrity and respect of the judiciary,” the commission wrote. “Through private communication with [the grandmother]Judge Denton’s actions implied that he concurred with her position.”

Denton acknowledged that his actions “may have created the appearance of bias or prejudice,” but denied that he was “actually biased or biased towards or against any party or interested person.”

At a hearing, Denton said he had “sympathy for the grandmother’s plight,” which ultimately “influenced and overshadowed” his judgment, and that he “normally would never have made that mistake in a normal setting,” according to the court documents.

Denton sought a lighter sentence of 60 days, arguing, “[n]o another has benefited, nor has anyone ever suffered any adverse consequences as a result of his actions.” He also argued that previous cases of similar misconduct “support at most a sixty-day suspension”.

However, the commission argued that because Denton was “so personally involved and interested in the case” he should have withdrawn. It has also been argued that Denton’s misconduct was “the result of intentional knowing acts, not carelessness or negligence” and that sanctions would be decided “on a case-by-case basis”.

“[W]Although Judge Denton may have truly believed that he was unbiased and could remain impartial, concluding that he was in fact unbiased or uninterested simply strains credibility [the] matter,” the commission wrote.

Denton, a former barrister, was a Denham Springs city councilor and city marshal before moving to the judge’s seat in 2017. He ran unopposed in 2020.