An Orleans Parish criminal court judge has recused himself from the state’s case against Susan Hutson, the former Orleans Parish sheriff, citing an arrest warrant that highlights a fight last summer between the court’s judges and Hutson over inmate transfers.
District Judge Leon Roche notified the court of his recusal on the eve of a scheduled arraignment for Hutson, who faces 30 felony counts related to her four-year tenure as sheriff, which ended this month. Hutson made way for new Sheriff Michelle Woodfork.
Hutson, along with her chief financial officer Bianka Brown, who is also implicated in the case, appeared in Roche’s courtroom Friday morning for the scheduled arraignment. The court session ended early after Roche announced his recusal…