Tracy Batieste-Woodard Removed

The Louisiana Supreme Court immediately disqualified East Baton Rouge Parish Justice of the Peace Tracy Batieste-Woodard in June 2025, finding her continued presence on the bench posed "a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or the administration of justice." The disqualification followed complaints from two landlords who told the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana that Batieste-Woodard charged fees in eviction cases that weren't authorized by law, routinely opened her courtroom late, and ignored their requests for documentation. A separately evicted tenant reported that Batieste-Woodard was hours late to his own hearing.

Batieste-Woodard resigned in February 2026 while the Judiciary Commission's investigation was still active. The Commission subsequently dismissed the matter as moot without prejudice, and ordered her to pay $2,698.15 to cover the cost of investigating her.

A justice of the peace's eviction docket exists to give both landlords and tenants a functioning, reliable process — charging renters and landlords fees the law doesn't authorize, and then not even showing up on time to hear the cases, undermines that function for both sides at once. The state's highest court found the problem serious enough to pull her off the bench immediately, before any final hearing.