In Re Best

This matter comes before the court on the recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana (Commission) that Judge James Best of the Eighteenth Judicial District Court for the parishes of Iberville, Pointe Coupee, and West Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana be publicly censured and ordered to reimburse the Commission for the costs incurred in the investigation and prosecution of this case. The Commission conducted an investigatory hearing and issued findings of fact and Conclusions of law. The Commission found that Judge Best made comments concerning pending cases to a newspaper reporter in violation of canon 3, subsection A(8) of the Code of Judicial Conduct; that he took a straw poll of the courtroom audience response regarding the guilt of a defendant in violation of canons 1, 2, and 3A(1)-(2) of the Code of Judicial Conduct; and that he undertook the chastisement of a juvenile in the courtroom in violation of canons 1, 2, and 3A(2)-(3) of the Code of Judicial Conduct.