Guy E. Bradberry Censured

Judge Guy Bradberry held attorney Christian Chesson in contempt of court and ordered him jailed — but denied Chesson's own attorney the opportunity to speak on his behalf until after Bradberry had already ruled and sentenced him. In reaching the contempt finding, Bradberry relied on witness statements about Chesson's conduct that were never entered into evidence in the proceeding and that Chesson was never shown or told about beforehand.

Louisiana's Third Circuit Court of Appeal overturned the contempt ruling and ordered Chesson released the same afternoon, finding he'd been denied proper notice and the chance to participate in his own hearing — a basic due process failure regardless of whether the underlying contempt allegation had any merit.

The Louisiana Judiciary Commission and Bradberry had agreed to a 30-day suspension, but the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected that as the appropriate sanction and instead imposed a public censure and a $1,500 fine — a lighter penalty than what had been proposed.

Jailing someone without letting them or their lawyer speak, based on evidence they were never shown, is exactly the kind of process failure an appeals court doesn't tolerate even when it might agree the underlying conduct was contemptuous. Louisiana's Supreme Court found the misconduct real enough to formally censure Bradberry over, even while choosing a lighter sanction than what was originally proposed.