BATON ROUGE — An East Baton Rouge Parish justice of the peace was temporarily removed from the job following complaints about how her office handled evictions.
Tracy Batieste-Woodard
According to an affidavit filed with the state Supreme Court by the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, two landlords claimed Justice of the Peace Tracy Batieste-Woodard charged unauthorized fees, opened her courtroom late at times and ignored requests for documentation.
The investigators who looked into Batieste-Woodard’s performance told the Supreme Court they also had to deal with “sporadic communications” with her. When they gave Batieste-Woodard an extension of time to respond to their inquiries, they say she never submitted responses.
She responded only after she received a subpoena. And the documents she did submit confirmed she was charging unauthorized fees, the investigators said.
The commission recommended a six-month suspension June 6, and the justices agreed to remove Batieste-Woodard from her duties with pay in a June 25 filing.
While justices of the peace are allowed to charge fees for basic services, Batieste-Woodard was charging a $10 COVID fee as well as a $2 service fee for every other fee charged. The investigators said Batieste-Woodard was charging $240 for a two-person eviction when justices are allowed to charge $175.
Court documents showed Batieste-Woodard also was charging four times the approved $1 fee for certified copies.
Batieste-Woodard represents Ward 2, District 3 in the Baton Rouge area. Justices of the Peace typically handle, among other duties, legal disputes under $5,000, settle tenant-landlord issues and notarize bills of sale.
Batieste-Woodard is from Baker. She was unopposed when seeking a six-year term in 2020.
