A state judge upheld contempt rulings against two Baton Rouge public defenders Wednesday and fined both attorneys for their conduct during a contentious murder trial earlier this year.
Stephen Sterling and La’Deisha Woods were part of Brian Alexander Lavergne’s team of trial attorneys in August when he was tried the second time in 10 months for a 2021 double homicide. The retrial ended with a jury convicting Lavergne on both counts of second-degree murder. He faces two life terms in prison when he is scheduled to go before Hines Myers for sentencing Thursday afternoon.
District Judge Louise Hines Myers, who presided over the retrial, issued eight counts of contempt against Sterling, the lead defense attorney in the case. She also held Woods in contempt on three counts and kicked her out of the courtroom midway through the proceedings. She barred Woods from reentering the courtroom until the trial was over…