State's top court suspends circuit judge

Simes continued to practice law while on bench

By The Associated Press

The Arkansas Supreme Court has suspended an eastern Arkansas judge from the bench until the end of his term in late 2010.

The court said L.T. Simes continued to practice law while serving as a circuit judge, in violation of judicial canons.

Simes is a Phillips County circuit judge and is suspended without pay until Dec. 31, 2010. Justices said he could seek office again, rejecting a recommendation from the state panel that disciplines judges.

The discipline panel said Simes continued to make money as a lawyer after his election to the bench in 1997. It had recommended that Simes be permanently barred from serving as a judge again.

Circuit Judge L.T. Simes

The court ruled that the case didn’t show a “pattern of misconduct,” and noted that the violation didn’t occur in his courtroom.

Justices split several ways in their decision, with some objecting to the finding and others objecting only to the punishment.

“Judge Simes, of course, can resign and vacate his judgeship at any time, which would allow him to practice law,” Justice Robert L. Brown wrote in the majority opinion.

Simes said he had been fired from acting as administrator of an estate, but records show he billed for work on the case after he became a judge in 1997.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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