Former Judge Joan Benge can practice law again, Supreme Court says

Former Judge Joan Benge, removed from the 24th Judicial District Court bench in Jefferson Parish because of a ruling she made in a personal injury lawsuit more than a decade ago, will be able to practice law again, the state Supreme Court decided Tuesday in closing what appears is the final chapter on her discipline. Justices barred Benge from practicing law for three years, but they applied it retroactively to February 2010, when she volunteered to suspend her license on an interim basis until the state Supreme Court could decide on the future of the profession she has had since 1991.

The ruling means that Benge, 55, of Kenner, should be able to resume practicing law in five months. She could not be reached immediately for comment Tuesday.
Only months after Benge was elected to the state bench in Jefferson Parish in 2001, she ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Philip Demma, who fabricated a claim that he cracked a tooth during a car accident in Metairie in 1998.

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Former Judge Joan Benge can practice law again, Supreme Court says