KAPLAN – A Kaplan judge has made a public apology after the Louisiana Supreme Court suspended him from practicing law for six months.
City Judge Stanton Hardee released an apology directed "to the people in the city of Kaplan" on Nov. 16 after he was caught intoxicated at a bachelor party on Jan. 15, 2017, as reported by local TV station KLFY.
"On that day, I was on my bachelor party out of state with some of my Army buddies," Hardee said in a statement released on Nov. 16. "I got extremely intoxicated that night, was arrested at a bar, and charged with several misdemeanors for being extremely intoxicated and grabbing a waitress on the buttocks, for failing to produce identification, and for refusing to get into the police vehicle."
Also stated in the report, Hardee "said he pleaded no contest to misdemeanors charges, paid the fines and completed the probation period."
On Nov. 14, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that pointed that Hardee “pleaded no contest to multiple misdemeanors arising from alcohol-related, offensive conduct, in violation of Rules 8.4(a) and 8.4(b) of the Rules of Professional Conduct," as mentioned by the KLFY report.
The decision suspended Hardee for a year and a day, but "ordered that all but six months of the suspension to be deferred," the report said.
Local attorney Clay LeJeune told the news station that "the Bar Association, a lot of the time, will mandate different probationary measures even if the term of the suspension for the practice of law is deferred until after the completion of the probation."
"This means I cannot practice law or sit as a judge for six months, and that I must also complete more probation after I take the bench again in six months," Hardee said in the statement. "I am sorry and remorseful for the embarrassment that my actions have brought upon my family, my constituents, my employees and the legal profession. It is a very hard lesson to learn. I humbly ask for your forgiveness."
Hardee has no plans to return to practice, KLFY reported.