NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Suspended Slidell attorney and former Orleans Parish Juvenile Court Judge Yolanda Julie King was placed on retroactive suspension in a May 20 Louisiana Supreme Court attorney disciplinary proceeding in a long-running disciplinary proceeding.
In its eight-page attorney disciplinary proceeding, court suspended King for one year, retroactive to the date of her interim suspension the court handed down March 14, 2016.
The court also ordered King to pay all costs and expenses. King previously agreed to the discipline but said she could not afford to pay costs.
King was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on April 23, 1993, according to her profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
King was elected to the juvenile bench in Orleans Parish in 2013 but she was disqualified by the state Supreme Court in May 2014 over criminal allegations that she filed false election-related documents.
"Following the indictment, this court disqualified [King] from exercising any judicial function during the pendency of further proceedings," the Supreme Court said in its disciplinary proceeding. "Prior to a final adjudication of the judicial discipline matter against [King], she lost the status of a judge when she was defeated in the fall 2014 elections. As a result the office of disciplinary counsel assumed jurisdiction over [King]."
In November 2015, an Orleans Parish jury found King guilty of felony filing false public records and violating the state's election code when she alleged her domicile was in Orleans Parish but it actually was in St. Tammany Parish.
After the case was remanded on appeal, King entered a plea agreement in which her original conviction was vacated and she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disobeying any lawful instruction of a registrar, deputy registrar or commissioner.
The office of disciplinary counsel filed its formal charges in March 2016.
In December 2018, a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) hearing committee recommended a retroactive suspension. The hearing committee handed down that recommendation after finding King violated rules of professional conduct regarding commission of a criminal act and conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. The committee also recommended King be ordered to pay half of the costs and expenses.
In March 2019, the LADB also recommended retroactive suspension and that King be assessed with all costs and expenses.