Vercell Fiffie Suspended

St. John the Baptist Parish Judge Vercell Fiffie repeatedly refused or delayed signing search warrants across multiple criminal investigations, including cases involving child sexual abuse material, according to Louisiana's Judiciary Commission. In one case, a detective sought five warrants for cellphone and email records in a child sexual abuse and pornography investigation — Fiffie sat on them for 11 days before signing just one. During that delay, the alleged juvenile victim decided not to cooperate with the investigation any further, and the alleged abuser left the jurisdiction on a military assignment. In a separate case, a warrant for a home where authorities believed a juvenile had hidden guns and stolen property sat unsigned for 28 days — court records showed Fiffie had opened and viewed the warrant 18 times before finally approving it. The Judiciary Commission found Fiffie engaged in willful misconduct and demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of the law, recommending a six-month unpaid suspension. The Louisiana Supreme Court went further, imposing the six-month suspension without pay and ordering Fiffie to personally reimburse the Commission more than $9,125 for the cost of investigating him.