JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A judicial watchdog agency want to remove a south Mississippi chancery judge in a case that led another judge to plead guilty to obstruction of justice charges.
The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance recommended on Tuesday that the Supreme Court remove Chancery Judge David Shoemake from office, saying Shoemake lied in testimony before the commission.
“Respondent has irreparably damaged his own credibility by making false and misleading statements while under oath, and should not have the opportunity to pass judgment on others’ credibility,” the commission said in a statement. The commission wrote that it’s also calling for Shoemake to pay a $2,500 fine and nearly $5,900 for investigation costs.
Shoemake, who wants the case dismissed, has denied lying. His lawyer has said in a court filing that the commission broke its own rules by waiting longer than 90 days to notify him of a complaint.
“I am disappointed that this commission has chosen to play politics with such an important matter,” Shoemake said. His lawyers said the commission leaked information to lawyer Terrell Stubbs, who in turn leaked it to two Simpson County newspapers. “Actually, it is the integrity and independence of this commission that is at issue,” the lawyers wrote last month.
Shoemake is one of two judges in a chancery district that includes Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Simpson and Smith counties.
Until May 2014, the other judge in that district was Joe Dale Walker. After resigning, Walker pleaded guilty in October to instructing a federal grand jury witness to destroy documents and then lying to FBI agents.
Prosecutors said that Walker, in 2011, directed the attorney he had appointed for a conservatorship to solicit bids from local contractors for the construction of a home for a ward in a case Walker was overseeing.
Five bids for construction of the home were obtained, including a bid from Walker’s nephew, Chad Teater, doing business as C.T. Construction.
Prosecutors say Walker reviewed the bids, finding that Teater’s bid was much lower than the others. Walker instructed Teater to raise his bid and Teater subsequently submitted another that was $23,500 higher, but still lower than the other bids.
Due to his nephew’s involvement, Walker transferred the case to Shoemake to accept and approving bids for the construction of the home.
The commission wrote that there was no evidence that Shoemake had tried to award funds that were unjustified or that he had benefited financially. However, the commission found the judge “repeatedly failed to exercise diligence and oversight to protect the assets and best interest of the ward,” particularly criticizing his decision to give Teater another $23,000 to cover stolen materials.
Stubbs was hired by the ward’s conservator and filed a complaint against Shoemake. The judge’s lawyers say Shoemake has twice sanctioned Stubbs. The lawyers say the commission lied to the judge, telling him there was no complaint pending when he was interviewed by the commission and FBI agents. They also say the commission failed to notify Shoemake of the complaint within the required 90 days.
The commission, in turn, says Shoemake lied at a later hearing in 2013, claiming signature on the orders weren’t his. The commission says he reversed his story after a handwriting analysis found the signatures matched Shoemake’s handwriting.
“That analysis, received by commission counsel in December 2013, established that all orders discussed above bore respondent’s signature,” the commission wrote. “That was disclosed to respondent in January 2014, and the following month respondent admitted that he had in fact signed all orders.”
Shoemake’s lawyers say his testimony was peppered with qualifications and didn’t constitute lying.
“That judge Shoemake was wrong with regard to some of his conclusions at the show cause hearing does not prove he intended to mislead,” the lawyers wrote.
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