LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Supreme Court has suspended an eastern Arkansas judge from the bench until the end of his term in late 2010. The court said L.T. Simes continued to practice law while serving as a circuit judge, in violation of judicial canons.
Simes is a Phillips County circuit judge and is suspended without pay until Dec. 31, 2010. Justices said he could seek office again, rejecting a recommendation from the state panel that disciplines judges.
The discipline panel said Simes continued to make money as a lawyer after his election to the bench in 1997. It had recommended that Simes be permanently barred from serving as a judge again.
Justices split several ways in their decision, with some objecting to the finding and others objecting only to the punishment.
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