Ex-judge gets back law license

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday reinstated a former judge’s law license.

In 2009, the Supreme Court removed Joan Benge from the Jefferson Parish bench for letting her relationships with a fellow judge and a plaintiff’s attorney dictate her decision in a case. The court cited evidence that Benge awarded money to a man who had sued over a traffic accident even though she privately said the suit had no merit.

The Times Picayune reports (https://bit.ly/1ca01Zl ) that Benge’s reinstatement was recommended by the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.

Benge, who got her law license in 1991, worked as an assistant district attorney in Jefferson Parish before she was elected a district judge in 2001. She gave up her law license after the Supreme Court removed her from office.

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Information from: The Times-Picayune, https://www.nola.com