BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Another Baton Rouge area justice of the peace is in hot water after the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana found he allowed his wife to volunteer as his clerk while still collecting fees that would be used to pay a clerk, among other issues.
According to a document titled “Deferred Recommendation of Discipline Agreement,” Justice of the Peace Larry Spencer agreed to three-year probationary period in which he won’t be punished for any of the alleged violations the judiciary commission has been investigating as long as he agrees to take additional legal training, doesn’t receive any more complaints and agrees to take certain steps that would help officials better monitor his finances.
Among the allegations investigated by the judiciary commission are claims that Spencer was charging legally allowable fees to pay a clerk in his office, but failed to keep the money in a separate account and used the fees to cover other court expenses.
The judiciary commission also investigated claims that Spencer did not employ a clerk between March 2020 and March 2022, but still collected the fees and allowed his wife to volunteer to complete work normally assigned to a clerk…