DA says removal of 19th JDC judge removal will not negatively affect criminal court
BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Supreme Court removed Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts from the 19th Judicial District Court on Thursday, leaving civil cases and one criminal case awaiting a new judge.
In her removal, the Supreme Court cited concerns that Foxworth-Roberts misled voters and law enforcement.
EBR Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said that since Foxworth-Roberts had only one active criminal case, it would not affect the JDC too much.
"This is the 1st time that I've ever seen this happen to a judge removed from the bench in Baton Rouge, but it will not really negatively affect us because she was no longer a criminal court judge," Moore said.
Foxworth-Roberts was moved off the criminal court bench last year, handling mainly civil cases.
Her one criminal case was the death penalty prosecution against Michael Wade. Wade was arrested in 2019, accused of killing 3 people, including his ex-girlfriend and her grandmother.
In November 2024, the state Supreme Court chose not to remove her from the case, despite a request from Wade's attorney.
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Moore says a temporary judge will likely take over the case, and any ruling Foxworth-Roberts made will remain in effect.
"She had ruled that we were allowed to use the testimony of some of the younger children who had information regarding the case," he said.
Moore said the timing of bringing Wade's case to trial is now in question due to Foxworth-Roberts' removal. He said the timeline depends on who ultimately fills the vacancy and whether the court section remains civil or is reassigned to criminal court.
WBRZ has reached out to the Secretary of State's office about the possibility of a special election.
Originally, Foxworth-Roberts' term was to end in December 2026.